Dimensional Ruler's Etude Vol 1
by Hayaki
Summary: A wanderer across dimensions finds herself fighting in a war filled with supernatural beings as tensions rise. A broken woman, cynical down to her very soul. Her wish to save others has been buried, forgotten by time. I am a cursed existence, doomed to an endless cycle of rebirths. (WARNING: OC is a girl, and story will contain yuri)
1. Chapter 1: Daily Life

**AN:** After running into repeated roadblocks in writing DRE, I decided to circle back, read and rewrite the earlier chapters. Hopefully I'll be able to iron out a lot of the problems I caught to make this a better read. I've decided to refocus my efforts into bettering DRE Vol. 1 with this redo.

* * *

" **Hey~! Wake up! If you don't wake up I'll... stab you~!"**

" **Hey~! Wake up! If you don't wake up I'll... stab you~!"**

" **Hey~! Wake up! If you don't-"**

Why did I ever think that it'd be fun to get one of these novelty alarm clocks? Its charm wore off after a week of hearing the same clichéd lines repeated in an sickeningly cutesy voice over and over again. Well it does its job properly, I guess.

Retracting my hand from the large head of the chibi figurine of a notorious yandere character, I throw the covers off my body before drowsily sliding off the bed to head to the bathroom.

Sixteen years… Sixteen years since I was reborn. Sixteen years since I've completed my previous journey. Sixteen years since I've lost everything dear to me because of my own naïve mistakes. Sighing, I run a hand through my hair as I make my way to the bathroom. At the very least I don't have to suffer through the pain of having that curse anymore.

Damn. What a way to start the day. It's barely even begun and I already feel like shit.

After splashing some water onto my face, I stare at my reflection in the mirror. I look like shit as well. Can't exactly go down to greet my parents like this much less go to school. I force a practiced smile onto my face. There. Now I look more like a normal high school girl. It feels as empty as the day before, but it's necessary.

Quickly running through the rest of my morning routines, I make my way back to my room to put on my uniform. At the very least Kuoh Academy's uniforms are pretty stylish. Not to mention the material feels great.

As I tighten the black ribbon around my collar, I examine myself to check for anything that seems out of place in the full body mirror sitting in the corner of my room. No wrinkles or stains on the white blouse of course, the corset's properly tightened around my body, the shoulder cape is secured by a pair of plain, matching clips, and the skirt is safe from any unfortunate mishaps. Perfect. Let's go.

"Morning, mama, papa!" I greet cheerfully as I bound down the stairs and into the kitchen.

My dear "mother", ever the hard worker already has a fresh breakfast prepared and waiting for me at the dining table as my dear "father" sits reading a newspaper while idly sipping on his coffee; all in all a very stereotypical family's morning.

"Good morning, dear," my mother says with a smile as she wipes her hands on her apron decorated with cartoon cats. "I made your favourite today. Eat up so you have plenty of energy for school, alright?"

"Yay! Thanks!"

Chuckling, my father sets down the newspaper and folds his arms across his chest as I sit down across from him and begin digging into my meal. "Saya'll always be full of energy, honey. There's no need to worry about that. She's our little girl, after all."

"Geez, papa. Stop treating me like a kid. I'm already in my second year of high school."

"Haha! Maybe I will when you stop calling us 'papa' and 'mama'."

Yeah, that was a miscalculation on my part. That was how I referred to them as a kid, but before long it had ingrained itself into me as a habit. Now it just feels weird to call them by anything else.

"Oh hush, darling. I know you love it just as much as I do," my mother pipes up as she takes a seat next to me to begin eating her meal.

The three of us continue to chat about everything and nothing before I leave for school. It may seem dull to most people, but I've learned to appreciate the small blessings I get over time.

The morning commute to school is normal enough. I just hope that sixteen whole years of enjoying this peace and quiet hasn't dulled my skills. Something big is about to happen, or at least that's what my gut is telling me. Until that happens, I'll just continue living the life of an ordinary school girl.

As I get closer to the school grounds, I see more and more students walking the same route as me. Of course, it doesn't take more than two seconds before a small gathering of my admirers begin following behind me, slowly snowballing in size.

"Kyaaa! It's Saya-samaaaaa!"

"Saya-chaaaan!"

"Marry meeeee, Saya-sama!"

Even though it's only my second year, I've managed to amass a fan base that almost rivals that of the two Queens of Kuoh: Rias Gremory, a foreign, crimson haired bombshell of a beauty, and Himejima Akeno, a picture perfect Yamato Nadeshiko with a rockin' bod to boot. Although my slender body may not be a match for theirs, I managed to land a spot as Kuoh's Rising Princess. Ever since I enrolled, I strived to act like an honours student with a heart of gold. I suppose that was enough to garner the students' affections.

Along with the three of us, the other idols of the school include: Souna Shitori, the student council president renown for her amazing intellect, beauty, and strictness which earned her the nickname of 'Black Ice Princess', Kiba Yumi, Kuoh Academy High School Division's resident 'Prince Charming' who despite being a girl, her dashingly good looks and chivalrous attitude captured the hearts of boys and girls alike, and Toujou Koneko, the white haired loli who wears a figurative expressionless mask that enjoys sweets on an hourly basis has become the school's mascot, 'White Cat', nearly the instant she enrolled as a first year. There are quite a few more famous and infamous names in this high spec school, but listing all of them would take much too long.

Smiling and waving to all of my admirers, I continue trekking towards the school.

* * *

"You guys are incorrigible idiots, aren't you?" I say with a defeated sigh as I stare down at the backs of two male students crowded around what I assume to be a peephole into the changing room of the girl's kendo team.

"Eep!"

The two idiots immediately leap up to their feet and whirl around wearing terrorized expressions.

"Motohama-kun, Matsuda-kun, care to tell me what you two are doing here?"

These two guys make up the school's most infamous pair known as the 'Perverted Duo'. Matsuda, AKA the 'Bald Lolicon' is known for taking impossible candid photos of the school's female stars. Even I have fallen victim to his photography skills on more than a couple of occasions. Meanwhile, Motohama, AKA the 'Glasses Freak' has an uncanny ability of gauging the three sizes of any girl he lays his eyes on within an instant. I would've gouged his eyes out by now if he wasn't just a stupid high school boy with raging hormones.

It's a shame, really. Motohama's grades aren't something to scoff at and Matsuda's physical ability is near the top of our grade. If the two of them weren't such masochistic perverts they'd actually have a chance of being popular with the girls. How ironic.

"U-um… W-we can explain, Hyoudou-chan!" Matsuda blubbers as he fails to come up with an excuse before looking to his friend for help. "R-Right, Motohama?"

"R-Right!" Motohama squeals as he straightens his glasses. "You see, we saw that there was a hole in the wall of this building so we decided to try to patch it up! That's all! I swear!"

"Ooohhh, I see! Sorry for misunderstanding~," I say while giving them a bright smile.

"Y-Yeah! So we'll be on our way now…"

As the two of them skirt around me and begin to sneak off, I pivot off of my left foot and lay into one of them with a roundhouse kick.

"Guhah!"

Huh. Looks like I managed to hit Motohama if is unconscious body sprawled across the ground is of any indication. Matsuda had barely managed to duck under my leg as it soared over his shaved head.

I smirk and tut at the quivering fool. "Heh. Did you really think I'd let the two of you go?"

"Damn…"

Matsuda's gaze flits back and forth between his fallen comrade and his escape route before finally settling on me.

"There's no way I can outrun you… If it's come to this then I must simply charge forward!"

Letting loose a desperate battle cry, the bald pervert charges towards me with his hands outstretched, fingers wriggling in an extremely suggestive manner. Really now. Can his intentions be any more obvious?

I bide my time until he's just a few steps away before slamming a kick into his chin. A loud, satisfying crack fills my ears as his body soars through the air before landing on Motohama with a solid 'whump'.

"Feel free to continue your little escapades, you two. Just keep in mind that I'm your judge, jury, and executioner," I say as I bend down and pinch their cheeks.

Sighing, I brush my bangs out of my eyes before walking away from the two unconscious idiots.

I freeze mid step as a chill runs down my spine. It feels like someone's spying on me. Where? Where are they? My eyes scan through my surroundings before landing on a shaded figure standing by a window in the old school building. Our gazes meet for a brief second. Emerald green eyes and crimson hair…

Rias Gremory.

A few more seconds pass before the girl turns away from the window and disappears into the shadows.

I've been catching her watching me more often recently. She's definitely up to something.

Making a mental note to watch out for her later, I make my way over to join the throng of students leaving the school.

"Um... Excuse me... Are you Hyoudou Saya-san by any chance?" Almost as soon as I pass through the gates, a quiet voice calls out to me.

I turn to see that a cute girl around my age with a girl next door vibe wearing a school uniform I didn't recognize was standing just outside the campus.

"Yes, I am, can I help you?" I reply with a small smile.

A pink blush appears on the girl's cheeks as she nervously pulls at the hem of her blazer.

"Are you… going out with anyone right now?"

Another confession? Not to mention from a girl from another school at that. This isn't the first time that this happened, but these people are usually the crazy yandere types. How troublesome.

"No. Not at the moment," I reply neutrally. For now I'll just try gauging her reactions.

Once those words leave my mouth the girl's face immediately lights up with a smile. "Oh! Then, could you please go out with me? Um, I've always admired you! Also, um, my name is Amano Yuuma, and um…"

The girl, Yuuma, trails off, realizing she was rambling on a little bit.

Rejecting her flat out will probably lead to nothing but trouble, but accepting her affection will do the same. What to do… I guess I could use her to kill some time.

"Sorry, but I don't think this'll work out," I say while giving Yuuma an apologetic smile. "We barely even know each other, right?"

The girl's elation visibly deflates at that.

"O-Oh, I see. Th-That's right…"

"But at the very least, we can start off as friends, right?"

"Eh?"

"How about the two of us go on a date together this weekend?" I suggest with a wink.

"A-A-A date?!"

"Heh. I called it a date, but it'll just be a chance for us to get to know each other better. How does that sound?"

"Yes! That sounds great! Would Sunday be okay?"

That seemed to have revitalized her. Hm. She's really quite beautiful now that I'm taking a good look at her. Raven black hair cascading down her shoulders, framing her doll-like face and accentuating her innocent, Japanese school girl appearance.

"Sunday is fine," I answer. "Let's meet up at the shopping center's plaza at eleven, then."

With the date and time settled, the two of us exchange numbers before parting ways. It seems like I've got something to look forward to this weekend. A date with a cute girl like her seems like it'll be fun.

* * *

The rest of the week passes by without much else happening and Sunday rolls by in no time at all. After putting together a decent outfit, I set out to meet Yuuma at the location we agreed on. There are already quite a few people milling about in the plaza as I start to wait for Yuma.

I wonder how that girl even knew about me. I'm sure that we hadn't met before, but the way she approached me the other day made it seem like she knew me for a while now. If she had been stalking me then I'm pretty sure I would've noticed at some point unless she's secretly some kind of ninja. The only other explanation I can think of is that she heard about me through somebody else.

"Excuse me~. Please, take one~."

"Oh, thanks."

I absentmindedly take a flyer that a girl dressed in a skimpy bat themed costume hands to me.

Hm? I don't recall there being any cosplay cafes around here. Looking down at the sheet of paper, I notice that the only words printed on the thing are: "Make a wish".

Strange. Maybe there's something on the other side.

Flipping the flyer over reveals a pentagram drawn in red on the back.

What the hell is this? A black magic summoning ritual? Could my gut feeling from earlier this week have been right? If that's the case then fate sure picked the right day to start some shit.

"Saya-saaan!"

I quickly stuff the ominous flyer into my skirt pocket before looking up to see Yuma running towards me while waving. I wave back and wait until she reaches me, panting heavily from exertion. She must've run a long way to get here.

"Sorry I'm late," she says while trying to catch her breath.

Smiling, I shake my head. "Don't worry about it. I just got here, too. Now, shall we go?"

"Un!" Yuma nods excitedly before suddenly hugging my arm.

This isn't exactly what I had in mind, but I guess this much is fine.

Now then, time to kick off the day. It's been a while since I last went out with another person like this.

The date begins without a hitch as the two of us watch some old horror movie featuring a psychotic killer dressed in a raccoon mascot suit called 'Lil Rascal' that attacks a group of high school students part of a film club on their club retreat. The movie itself was filled to the brim with tropes, but Yuuma seemed to drink in every second of it with rapt interest. By the end I found myself watching Yuuma for her reactions more than the movie itself.

Our next destination was a nearby café where we talked about our lives and interests. Yuuma was extremely open as she bared nearly everything she could about herself. I wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly began talking about her sexual fantasies if I didn't cut her off to continue our date.

After browsing through the various stores lining the strips and buying a couple of outfits along with a pair of matching stuffed animals, we reached the climax of the date. I had decided to take her to the park to wind down. Besides, the atmosphere here isn't half bad at sunset.

The two of us walked in relative silence as Yuuma hummed happily beside while hugging the small lion toy to her chest. Reaching the fountain that sits in the center of the park, Yuuma suddenly runs forward towards the landmark before turning around to face me with a beaming smile gracing her features.

"Thank you for taking me out today, Saya-san. I had a lot of fun."

I return her smile with one of my own. "There's no need to thank me. I had fun, too."

"So, um…" The girl glances shyly at the floor as she shifts from foot to foot. "In commemoration of our first date… Can you do something for me?"

Ah, here it comes.

"Can you close your eyes for me, please?" Yuma asks sweetly.

And there it is. I still think it's a bit early for something like this, though I guess it has to be done.

Sighing, I summon a dagger in my hand before quickly stepping forward and driving the tip into Yuuma's stomach. The girl's eyes shoot open in shock as she staggers backward, dropping the stuffed animal in the process, and clutching the hilt of the weapon embedded into her flesh.

"Y-You… what..? Why..?"

"Your acting was perfect," I say as I draw another dagger from behind my back. "But you made several fatal mistakes."

Yuuma's beautiful face contorts in pain and fury as she glares at me.

"You knew surprisingly little about me for somebody who has admired me for a long time. Also, if you were stalking me I would've noticed you long ago." I continued to explain. "There were far too many holes in your story."

"Hehe… To think that a mere human could see through my deception…" Yuuma mutters with a dark chuckle. "I thought that I would be able to take you by surprise, and then watch as your life drains away in despair. It doesn't matter now."

Stepping backwards, Yuuma leaps into the air and a bright light engulfs her, forcing me to shield my eyes. The light disperses in a couple of beats, revealing the girl dressed in some kind of fetishist BDSM gear hovering in the air with a pair of raven-like wings sprouting from her back.

"Now, allow me to pay you pack tenfold for the wound you inflicted on me!" She shouts while rearing her arm back as if she's going to throw a javelin. Light coalesces and forms together into a long spear in her hand before she sends it flying towards me.

Great. I'm at a disadvantage here.

Rolling to the side, I throw my dagger at her as the spear just barely misses my head. Coming up from the roll, I see Yuuma easily swerve away from the weapon I threw before retaliating with a barrage of light spears.

At the rate this battle is going, I'm going to get impaled by one of those things. Guess I'll just have to use those two.

After flipping over the light spears, I reach into my Vault and pull out a pair of curved black and white short swords crafted with a Yin Yang motif: Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.

"You… How did you? I thought your Sacred Gear was Twice Critical!"

So she really was after my Sacred Gear.

Ah… how long has it been since I felt the familiar weight of these two blades in my hands? Not to mention, I'm beginning to feel the thrill of battle once again.

Throwing the white twin of the pair high into the air above me, I dash under the woman assailing me while dodging the constant barrage of spears before leaping up towards her.

"Hmph! How naïve! You can't dodge if you're midair!"

A mad grin descends on Yuuma's features as she thrusts a light spear towards my chest.

"I'd say its checkmate for you," I return as Mo Ye speeds towards Yuuma's back and embeds itself into one of her wings, causing her to violently lurch to the side. Ignoring the spear that scrapes past my cheek, I plunge Gan Jiang into her heart, watching as the light fades from the girl's eyes.

"Im… possible… Ah... Lord Kokabiel…"

As we begin to plummet towards the ground, I retrieve the twin short swords before leaping off her lifeless body and landing on the destroyed concrete path as the girl known as Yuuma lands in the fountain with large splash.

Shaking the blood off the twin blades, I store Gan Jiang and Mo Ye back into my Vault and walk over towards the fountain, picking up the discarded lion its fur covered in dust with some of its stuffing pouring out of the various scratches covering its body. The constantly reclycling water in the fountain quickly turns red with blood, creating a gruesome but beautiful art piece with the Fallen Angel's body as the focus. I forcefully suppress the growing whirlwind of emotions rising from my chest. Her last words and thoughts were of somebody precious to her.

Tch. Damn. It's been so long since I last had to kill. I've grown soft.

"Your fate was sealed the moment you were sent to kill me, Yuuma. If you are to curse anyone for your death, then curse that foolish God watching over us for dealing you this hand," I whisper as I step into the fountain, the crimson water soak into my socks but I pay it no mind.

"As one life ends, another one begins. I just hope you have better luck in your next life."

Bending down, I close the girl's lifeless eyes and place the stuffed animal into her arms before leaving her behind. It seems that people after my Sacred Gear have finally begun to move.

Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a crumpled sheet of paper.

'Make a wish'. If my intuition is correct then the Occult Research club is behind this. Considering how their members have been watching me over this past week that must mean they must've been expecting me to be attacked, and by extension killed so they can swoop in and harvest my Sacred Gear. I can't really imagine Angels coming up with a plan like that, Fallen Angels are probably too prideful, and so that just leaves the Devils. Not to mention there is a pentagram drawn on the back of the flyer.

Alright, I guess now would be a good time to confront them. Closing my eyes, I focus on a single thought: 'I want to see Rias Gremory'.

A strange sound coming from in front of me prompts me to open my eyes again just in time to see a magic circle appear on the ground. From it the crimson haired beauty appears and steps forward, an amiable smile gracing her features.

"You have called, and so I have come," she greets with all the presence of a noble. "Now, what do you wish of me?"

Not wasting any time, I bring out a dagger and press the tip of it into her throat. The blade breaks through her unmarked skin drawing a pinprick of blood that runs down the edge. Fear radiates from her eyes, but the girl manages to keep a straight face to her credit. Seems like she isn't just some pampered rich girl.

"I have some questions for you, and you're going to answer them. Do not speak unless you're told. Do not move unless you are told. If you do not comply I will end your life and move on to the next member of your little club. Do you understand? Nod if you do."

I drag the tip of the dagger across her neck until it rests against the side of her neck, allowing her to move her head more freely. The girl nods once, albeit extremely stiffly given the circumstances.

"Good. Now, are the Occult Research Club members Devils? Nod if yes."

A nod.

"Did you know that Fallen Angel was after my life? Nod if yes."

The girl's eyes flit towards the fountain behind me before nodding. Her complexion blanches slightly before returning her gaze to me.

"Are you after my Sacred Gear as well? Nod if yes."

Another nod.

"Now, were you planning to take my Sacred Gear after that Fallen Angel had killed me? Nod if yes."

Rias shakes her head this time. Interesting.

"Explain."

"We Devils have a system in place called Peerages," she begins, her voice steady. "With the Peerage system we are able to resurrect other races into Devils to bolster our ranks. I was planning to revive you and have you join my Peerage after you had died."

Hmhm… I see. I feel like she isn't exactly telling me everything, but…

"Pfft… haha… Ahahahahaha!"

I can feel the girl staring at me strangely at my sudden outburst, not that I care.

After taking some time to calm down, I stare into Rias' eyes and grin.

"Not bad, but a beautiful young girl like you shouldn't rely on such schemes like that. It'll change you, and eventually turn you into a monster."

"Eh?" The girl blinks in confusion at my advice.

Just as I'm about to lower my weapon, a cold feeling washes over me, warning me to get away. Before I know it, I'm surrounded on all sides by the other members of the Occult Research club. A blade is pressed into my back, threatening to spear me the instant I make a wrong move; my arm is stuck in a vice-like grip contrasted by the cute knuckle dusters with pink paw prints on the backs covering the pair of small hands holding onto me, and finally, to top it all off is Himejima Akeno hovering above me with her palm pointing towards me as electricity sparks across her fingertips.

Looks like I'm in a pinch.

"Hm. It seems you have some good companions, girl."

"Um… Thank you," Rias replies unsurely.

Releasing my grip on the dagger, I let it drop to the ground with a sharp clang.

"I have to say, though. You're all a few centuries too early to beat me."

My heart rate begins to speed up, and my perception of the world begins to slow down dramatically. The pain in my chest already begins to set in. I can't breathe, my head feels like it's about to burst, and my limbs are burning up. Just a few seconds. I just need to last for a few seconds.

Wrenching my arm free from Toujou Koneko's grasp, I spin around and kick out, catching the blonde haired prince in her side before leaping to the side just in time to see a lightning bolt crash into the space I was standing in before.

Damn. I guess I can only manage a doubling at this point.

The world spins as I'm forced to my knees by the feeling of a million tiny needles stabbing my heart. I was naïve thinking that I could handle Awakening with my current abilities.

Forcing myself back onto my feet, I roll to the side just in time to see the small white-haired girl blow a crater in the ground with just a punch. For someone so tiny she sure can pack a punch.

I'm at a massive disadvantage here. Not to mention I don't want to reveal my entire arsenal of weapons just fighting some teenage Devils. Now would be a good time to run.

"Ara, and where do you think you're going?"

I freeze in my tracks as Himejima swoops down in front of me. The rest quickly follow suit and surround me on all sides, effectively cutting off my escape routes.

At this point the only option I have left is to give up, and hope that they don't decide to kill me.

Sighing, I raise both my arm into the air, palm open, to signal my surrender.

"Alright, alright. Fine. You got me," I groan. "If you're planning to kill me, then just make it quick."

"It's fine!" Rias calls out. "She won't hurt us."

The girls surrounding me all look at each other briefly before lowering their respective weapons, or lack thereof. Although they still remain as wary as before.

Hm. They are just kids after all. The thought of actually ending a person's life probably doesn't sit well with them.

Rias clears her throat and strides up to me confidently.

"I'm sorry if we have left an unfavourable impression of us on you, Hyoudou-san," she says, holding her hand out. "If possible, I would like for you to come to our clubroom after classes tomorrow."

This girl may be naïve, but at the very least she seems to have some guts. Well with Ddraig asleep I can use this opportunity to finally learn more about the supernatural side of this world. He didn't exactly explain much during the short time he was awake.

"Fine. I suppose I'll take you up on that offer," I answer while grasping and shaking her hand. Her skin is incredibly smooth, almost intoxicatingly so. I almost wish I can just caress her –

Shaking my head free of anymore impure thoughts, I let go of the girl's hand. Was that a charm at work just now? No. I didn't feel any magic at work there. I must be tired. Using Awakening like that took a lot more out of me than I thought.

"Well then, I'll be going now."

As I begin to walk away from the members of the Occult Research club, I catch snippets of the conversation going on between them.

"Are you sure it's wise to let that girl go like that, Buchou? She's clearly not just a normal person being able to kill a Fallen Angel like that."

"Yes, but it doesn't seem like she's malignant. She had the chance to kill me, but left me alive. It seems I've made a mistake in my judgement."

Hmph. 'Mistake' is a bit of an understatement.

Ah… That was rough. I need a good, long bath after I get home. After that it's straight to bed for me. Maybe I'll finally be able to meet with Ddraig again tonight.

* * *

 **Omake: School Days**

"Hyoudou-kun, do you mind delivering these to the staff room? The student council apparently needs my help with something so I can't do it myself."

Glancing up from packing my bag, I see my homeroom teacher, a handsome man in his early thirties with side swept black hair partially covering one of his eyes, standing beside me holding a stack of papers.

I give him a small smile and nod. "Of course, Hamano-sensei. I'd be glad to."

"Thanks. I'll leave them on the desk up front so just grab them on your way out."

After saying his bit, the teacher walks away while scratching the back of his head.

"That damn Sona's a slave driver…" he grumbles.

Guess he has his fair share of problems, huh.

I quickly finish packing up before making my way to the staff room after picking up the stack of documents.

Damn… I should've tried to train my body instead of neglecting it so much. My arms are straining under the weight of these things.

Sighing, I readjust my grip on the damned things as I continue staggering through the hallways.

"Here, allow me to help."

Without warning, more than half of the papers sitting in front of my face disappear and I can see in front of me again..

That smooth, handsome voice can belong only to one person.

"Kiba-san, thank you," I say, turning my head to face the knight in shining armour.

The blonde-haired girl returns my thanks with a charming smile and a shake of her head.

"Don't worry about it. It's only natural to help a cute girl in need."

Cute girl, huh? What a smooth talker.

Wait, shit! Why is my face getting hot?! I shouldn't be happy getting called cute, especially at my age. It seems I've underestimated Kiba's ability to seduce girls.

"Are you sure you have time to help me out, Kiba-san? You're in the Occult Research club, aren't you? Won't Gremory-senpai be mad if you're late?" I ask in an attempt to change the subject.

"Ahahah…" she chuckles. "Yes, well I'm sure the president wouldn't mind if I am late by a couple of minutes. She is quite accommodating after all."

Sure sounds like you're in love with her with that kind of tone.

"Hm… Is that so? She sounds like a nice person."

A silence passes between us as we navigate through the throngs of students making their way to their afterschool activities. Occasionally, the two of us would brush against each other and Kiba would offer a quick apology.

"Hyoudou-san, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Kiba suddenly pipes up.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Forgive me if this sounds rude, but I was wondering why you haven't joined any clubs. You excel in both academics and sports, and yet you refused every invitation you received since last year."

I wonder if she wants to invite me into her club. We were in the same class last year so it could just be concern for a former classmate. Although, I always was curious about what happens in that old school building with that low-level Bounded Field covering it. For now I'll just use the excuse I've always used.

"Well, I feel like my skills would be best put to use helping all the clubs equally rather than spending all my time on one club," I answer.

"I see. Then why did you turn down the position in the student council that was offered to you?"

Even though the question itself was innocent enough, the way she said it sent shivers running throughout my body. The Occult Research club... Just what are they up to?

"Ah, Kiba-san, it looks like we made it to the staff room."

"Eh?" The girl stops in her tracks and glances at the sign hanging above the sliding doors. "Ah, you're right. My apologies. It seems I got lost in our conversation."

Now would be a good time to get her out of here.

"Thank you for your help again, Kiba-san. I can take it from here. I shouldn't keep you from your club any longer than this." I say with a polite smile.

"There is no need to worry about that. Allow me to accompany you," she replies, returning my smile with one of her own.

Damn she's persistent.

"Well if you're sure…"

Tch. So much for trying to get her off my back.

Suppressing a sigh, I carefully hug the stack of papers to my chest and move to open the door only to have Kiba gracefully step in front of me and slide the door open while effortlessly balancing her portion of documents in one hand.

Let's just get this over with.

After delivering the documents and making some small talk with some of the teachers, Kiba and I exit the faculty office.

As I stretch out the kinks in my arms, Kiba turns to me and gazes into my eyes.

"Hyoudou-san, I have something to speak to you about in private. Do you mind following me?"

Hm. I guess it couldn't hurt to hear her out. Besides, who could say no to somebody like the Prince?

"Alright, sure."

My feet move unconsciously as I follow Kiba to the third floor and into an unused classroom. As soon as the door shuts behind me, the Prince is upon me, backing me into the wall and trapping me between her arms as her palms rest against the wall beside my head.

This is… a kabedon, right?

My shorter stature forces me to look up to see Kiba's face as she hovers over me. Her gaze is filled with desire and passion.

"Hyoudou-san – no – Saya," she whispers, her voice smooth and husky. "I love you. I always have, ever since the moment we crossed paths.

Ah… My heart is racing a million a minute. I can feel the heat, her want, radiating off her body, intoxicating me, slowly stripping away any sense of reason.

Before I know it, my lips move and words come pouring forth.

"K-Kiba-san, we shouldn't… We're both girls, and you're…"

I suck in a sharp breath as Kiba leans down and gently kisses my neck. The action sends shocks of pleasure travelling through my body, causing me to involuntarily shiver.

"Such things do not bother me. You are the one I love. That is all that matters."

It feels like my mind is melting. Yumi continues planting kisses all along my neck as her hands travel down to grasp mine. A calming sense of security washes over me as I let all pretences of resistance leave me. Maybe this is fine… It feels so good after all…

Yumi suddenly stops her ministrations and holds my chin up before locking eyes with me.

"Saya…" she breathes.

She doesn't need to say anything more. I relax in her arms and close my eyes.

Her lips press against mine. It's a chaste kiss, and yet I can feel my body burning up.

I'm completely under her charm, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Charm..? Charm…

"Mfgh!"

My eyes snap open as I use all my strength to shove Kiba away from me.

Damn! How could I be so careless?! Then again, I didn't expect for Kiba to have such powers. I screwed up, and let my guard down. Even though I managed to break through the hypnotism I can still vaguely feel its effects. That kiss must've also helped cement it into my psyche.

Shaking my head, I force myself to move. It feel like I'm dragging my limbs through mud, but I manage to make it to the door and force it open. I stumble out into the hallway and quickly travel through the mostly vacated hallways, my thoughts still blanketed by a heavy haze.

"Kh..!"

I manage to make it to the entrance, and brace myself against the shoe lockers to catch my breath. My body is still overwhelmed with lust, and it's hard to think of anything but Yu – Kiba. At the very least it seems she isn't pursuing me. She could've easily caught me, and yet she chose not to. Just what is she planning?

The Occult Research club… I had thought they were harmless teenagers dabbling in magic, but it seems they're more dangerous than I gave them credit for. Making a mental note to investigate them, I unsteadily begin to make my way home.

* * *

 **-Stat Sheet-**

 **Master:** (N/A)

 **Evil Piece:** (N/A)

 **Name:** Saya Hyoudou

 **Titles:** The Dimensional Ruler, Blue Messiah, Hound of the Vatican, Disgraced Azure Knight

 **Sex:** Female

 **Race:** Human

 **Height:** 5'5" (167cm)

 **Alignment:** Neutral Good

 **Parameters:**

 **Strength:** D

 **Endurance:** D+

 **Agility:** C

 **Magic:** E-

 **Luck:** A++

 **Weapons:** Varied

 **Known Unique Weapons:** Holy Lance Longinus, Crimson Sun Blade, Holy Moon Sword, Holy Sword Caledfwlch [Unusable], Clarent, Neith's Holy Bow, Sessho-Seki Fragments [Unusable], Claiomh Solais, Joyeuse, Vorpal Sword, Deux Xiphos, Qing Long Yan Yue Dao, Laevateinn, Gae Bolg, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, Tyrfing, Hrunting, Dainsleif, Balmung, Valmanway, Burtgang, Kunitsuna, Muramasa, Parchment of Omniscience, Ascalon, Ig-Alima [Unusuable], Arondight, Caliburn, Excalibur Galatine,

 **Skills:**

 **Battle Continuation:** A - Makes it possible to fight even with deadly wounds and stay alive unless a fatal blow is received.

 **Charisma:** C- - Slightly boosts the morale and abilities of nearby allies.

 **Collector:** EX - Hoarded an uncountable number of rare items.

 **Disengage:** B - The ability to safely break away from combat.

 **Eye of the Mind (True):** A - Heightened capacity for observation, refined through experience.

 **Eye of the Mind (False):** C – A natural talent to foresee danger via an innate sixth sense.

 **Pioneer of the Stars:** EX - A unique skill given to heroes who became turning points in history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" are turned into "events that can be realized".

 **Abilities:**

 **Boosted Gear:** EX - A Sacred Gear that holds the ancient dragon Ddraig. It has the ability to double the user's strength every ten seconds as long as the user's body can handle the strain.

 **Dimensional Vault:** EX - A collection of items that Saya has collected during her journeys. It has an unlimited storage space.

 **Awakening:** EX - A psuedo-time stop ability that involves slowing down one's own perception of time by speeding up the body's processes. It has adverse effects on the user.

 **Adventurer's Insight:** EX - The ability to sense areas of civilization, dungeons, ruins, and treasure. It has a maximum range of 25 kilometers (15.5 miles).

 **Mad Enhancement:** A - Increases one's parameters but trades their sanity for it.

 **Power to Dominate a Dimension:** (N/A)

* * *

 **Harem Progress:**

 **Rias Gremory:** Rank 1

 **Akeno Himejima:** Rank 1

 **Yumi Kiba:** Rank 1

 **Koneko Toujou:** Rank 1


	2. Chapter 2: Fated Meeting

**AN:** The much awaited continuation of DRE has come along with the start of a new school semester. There was a pretty large gap between the this chapter and the last since I wanted to take my time with the story and iron out the problems in the previous one. Well, not much else to say here. Please enjoy.

* * *

My body is wracked with pain. The world around me is burning. I can hear screams of the dying and dead echoing in my head, drowning out the roar of the flames.

It's my fault. Those words ring repeatedly in my dulling consciousness.

I stumble and fall. The corrupted mud soaks into my clothes, chilling my battered body.

What did I live for? How could I have changed things? If only I could turn back time. I would go back to the days where I lived free without worry. Maybe I could change things then. Maybe then this wouldn't have happened. But then what? What other choice did I have? Can this outcome even be changed?

No.

My fate was sealed as soon as I was reborn into this world. Fate isn't something that can be altered so easily. I should know that better than anyone.

Were my ideals all meaningless? All I wanted to do was save people. I'm a hero, after all.

And yet… I was responsible for this. I have no right to call myself a hero. Killing for the sake of justice is one thing, but the death of so many innocents…

The flames encroach on me, dancing as if taunting me for my naivety.

I close my eyes and resign myself to fate. In the distance I hear a young boy calling out to his mother: A small ray of hope.

I will atone. Even if it takes an eternity, I will atone. My soul, I will dedicate my entire existence to saving people.

Cracking my eyes open, I find myself staring up at the white ceiling of my bedroom that has greeted me every morning for the past sixteen years.

Another nightmare of my previous life…

I'm a mess… My heart is weighed down by the regrets left by my previous life.

Sighing, I slide out of bed and check the clock sitting silently on my end table. Two hours before the alarm goes off. It's not like I'll be able to go back to sleep after that, so I guess I'll kill some time before school starts.

After cleaning up and putting on my uniform, I quickly write a note for my parents and leave it on the dining table before carefully sneaking out.

The morning air is chilly and I find myself shivering as the cold bites my exposed skin. I should've worn stockings at least.

I sigh, and begin to walk with no particular destination in mind. I'll let my feet lead me, like in the past.

Before long I find myself standing back in the park where I killed Yuuma. The fountain is no longer showering blood and the craters as a resultant from the battle were fixed. It was as if nothing ever happened here yesterday. Even the little stuffed lion I left on Yuuma's body is gone now.

I take a seat on a nearby bench and stare at the fountain. The sound of the water rushing helps to calm my nerves slightly.

What purpose do I serve here? Why have I come here?

Because I want to be a hero again. Because I want to atone for the sins I've committed.

My regrets are weighing me down, and yet I can't do a single thing to alleviate them.

Have I lost myself? What have I been doing the past sixteen years?

Ah… when will this dream end?

"Hyoudou-san?"

Looking up, I see Rias' blurry, emerald eyes staring back at me, centimetres away from my face.

Eh? No. It's not just her eyes that are unfocused. Bringing a hand up to my face, I feel something wet touch my fingers.

I'm crying?

Haha… What the hell is this? Why am I..?

"Kh!"

Hastily wiping my eyes, I glance back up at Rias who had stepped backwards. She's dressed in a tracksuit. Is she out for a morning run?

"Are you alright, Hyoudou-san?" She asks, looking at me with concern.

What the hell?

"Why are you worried about me all of a sudden? You were content to just let me die, yesterday."

That sounded a lot more hostile than I meant it to be.

To her credit, Rias lowers her head in an effort to look apologetic.

"I am truly sorry for that," she says. "I thought about what you said to me yesterday, and I realize that I was wrong. It wasn't right of me."

I stand up suddenly, startling the crimson-haired girl into backing away.

"Anybody can say words, Rias Gremory," I state coldly while walking past her. "Show me your conviction through your actions instead."

A girl like her… There's no doubt that she was coddled and spoiled when growing up. I'd like to see if she really has done any reflection.

* * *

The school day passes by in a blur. As the final bell rings, I begin packing up my books. I'm supposed to head to the Occult Research club's clubroom today so that we can have a civil talk. Although it might be a trap, I think I'll take my chances to see where she stands in this world.

Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I say a quick goodbye to my "friends" before walking out into the hallway just in time to see Kiba making her way over from the class next door.

"Good afternoon, Hyoudou-san," she greets with a disarmingly charming smile and a wave.

"Hello, Kiba-san. It's nice to know Gremory-senpai cares enough about me to send me an escort. Although, I would've appreciated to see the woman herself come to get me."

Kiba's eyes flash dangerously at my words and her mouth briefly twists into a scowl before she schools it back into her previous smile. Looks like Prince Charming isn't as unshakeable as I thought.

If my suspicions are right, then the rest of the club should act similarly if I make jabs at their leader.

"Please follow me, Hyoudou-san. Gremory-senpai wishes to see you," Kiba says as she begins leading the way through the growing throng of onlookers here to see their precious prince.

At the very least, Kiba makes an effort to stay beside me instead of in front of me. No doubt this'll cause countless rumours to start about the school's Prince and Princess finally hooking up; not like it'll bother me, though.

As soon as we near the old school building, our followers quickly disperse after having suddenly lost interest. Even I can feel the effects of the bounded field a little.

Kiba continues to lead me through the inside of the old school building before finally stopping in front of a set of heavy wooden doors.

"President, I've brought Hyoudou Saya," she announces with a sharp knock on the door.

There's no answer, but Kiba opens the door anyway and steps to the side motioning for me to enter in first.

Taking a deep breath, I cross over the threshold into the Victorian-era styled room. Two velvet couches capable of seating around four sit facing each other in the center of the room with an oak table sitting in between them. Silk tapestries hang from the walls where paintings and various ornate weapons are on display as well. There's even a full suit of armour sitting in the corner of the room. Finally, at the end of the room is a heavy oak desk with a throne-like chair behind it and a shower off to the side. Not to mention the shower is running right now and I can vaguely see a familiar silhouette behind the curtain.

Seriously? Is the host really taking a shower right now?

"Ara. Welcome Saya-chan. Please, take a seat. Rias will be done in a moment," Himejima Akeno greets from the side where she appears to be in the middle of brewing a pot of tea.

Meanwhile, Toujou Koneko is sitting on one of the couches quietly munching on a cookie as Kiba leans up against the wall behind her. I take a seat across from the white-haired girl and she briefly looks up to regard me with a nod before returning her attention back to her treat.

"Here you go. Please enjoy."

A teacup filled with a lightly coloured aromatic fluid is set down in front of me. I glance up to see Himejima looking at me with that ever present gentle smile of hers.

Gently lifting up the teacup, I bring it up to my lips and sniff it.

I don't smell anything wrong with it. Still, I can't rule out the possibility that's it's been drugged.

Parting my lips, a small portion of the hot liquid flows into my mouth. I make sure to savour its taste before swallowing it and lowering the teacup.

"Thank you, Himejima-senpai. It's wonderful. If I had to guess, you used a blend of rose, marigold, and saffron. Right?"

A look of surprise appears on the beauty's face at my observation.

"It seems like you know your tea, Saya-chan."

"Not exactly. It's just that your tea is so excellently brewed that I'm able to taste the different components you used."

"Ufufufu. Why thank you."

Hm… It doesn't seem like the tea was drugged. I don't feel anything different with my body with the exception of the lingering aftertaste of the tea. It really is quite good.

A couple minutes pass as I sip on Himejima's tea when the sounds of the shower suddenly come to a stop. Himejima walks over to the shower with a fresh uniform in her arms and places it next to the shower. Moments later, a hand snakes through the curtain and grabs the clothes.

"Pervert."

Hm?

My gaze drifts away from the shower and lands on Toujou who's glaring at me with an extremely cutting gaze.

Ah. She must've thought my staring was because I was trying to catch a glimpse. Well, I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested. Theses two third years in this school have bodies that can only be described as sinful.

Before I have a chance to defend myself, the curtain to the shower slides open and a fully clothes Rias Gremory steps out of it. Looks like she used magic to dry herself since there's not a single drop of water on her body or hair; at least that I can see.

"I apologize for the wait, Hyoudou-san," she says as she takes a seat directly across from me as Himejima sets about pouring her a cup of tea. "I didn't have a chance to shower this morning so I took the chance to do so now."

That so?

"Don't worry about it. So? What is it that you want from me?"

Leaning back in my seat, I crossed my legs and folded my arms under my chest.

"I'll cut right to the chase then." Rias takes a deep breath before meeting my gaze. "I want you to join us, Hyoudou-san."

"I refuse."

I work better alone or with a single partner, after all. Working in groups doesn't really suit me. That and I don't quite like the idea of becoming a Devil.

The girl gives me a sad smile and a nod.

"Yes. I thought that you'd say that."

I gently set my empty teacup onto the table before standing up.

"If that's all you wanted to talk to me about, then I'm afraid nothing you can say will change my mind. Good day to you all."

As I begin to make my way over to the exit, I can feel several pairs of eyes glaring holes into my back. No doubt I would've been attacked by now by the other three for how I'm acting if it wasn't for Rias' orders.

Sighing, I push open the wooden double doors and leave the club room behind.

* * *

I'm back at the park again. Despite being near the school, not many people come here which gives it a serene sort of atmosphere. I glance down at the stuffed penguin clutched loosely in my hand. I just bought this thing on a whim because it looked cute, but I guess I'll have a different use for it now.

Walking over to one of the benches, I set the penguin down leaning against one of the legs.

"Um… Mi Scusi?"

That's… Italian?

I turn around to see a cute blonde girl dressed in a nun's garb standing in front of me. A foreigner? Since she's dressed like that she must be on a mission. But… A mission in Kuoh? We don't exactly have any glaring problems in this town.

"U-Um, um… ekscoos me?" She says in broken Japanese.

Hm… My Italian isn't the best, so maybe we can compromise with English.

"Yes? Do you need something?"

The girl's posture immediately relaxes as she breathes a sigh of relief, although she still seems to be extremely nervous.

"Y-yes. Um… Did something happen here?" She asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Um… Well… You placed that stuffed animal there. Right?"

Ah. She saw that, huh.

Sighing, I rub the back of my neck. "I guess you could say that. A person died here, in this park, not too long ago."

"O-Oh! I'm sorry…" The nun casts her eyes downwards and clasps her hands together before muttering a prayer before looking back up at me. "Were they a friend?"

A chuckle escapes from my lips as I shake my head.

"No. We weren't friends, and she wasn't a good person either. She lied to me to try to take advantage of me, and she even tried to kill me."

The nun starts and seems to be growing increasingly uncomfortable at my words. Ignoring her, I continue, "Still, she was a person who loved and was loved. At least that's the feeling I got when I killed her."

"E-Eh?! Y-You…"

The girl takes a couple of tentative steps away from me, fear slowly creeping onto her features.

"I'm guessing you must've known her too, right? A Fallen Angel with long black hair that wears black straps as a form of clothing."

Instead of answering, the nun continues to back away from me as I slowly approach her; each step I take is punctuated by the words pouring forth from my lips. "This town has a church but it was abandoned a long time ago, there's no mission work for the church to even do in a town like this, there hasn't been any supernatural incidents lately for the church to investigate, a Fallen Angel suddenly appeared recently targeting me, and finally a foreign nun who doesn't know a word of Japanese is here standing in front of me. It doesn't take a genius to see the connection."

By the time we've stopped, I've managed to corner the nun at the fountain. Her eyes are shut as her entire body is quivering with fear. Sighing, I reach my hand out to pet her head.

"It's alright. I won't hurt you. I just wanted to see if you were a threat or not," I say as soothingly as possible.

"Eh?" The nun looks up at me with a teary eyed expression.

"I can't be too careful after what happened with the Fallen Angel after all. Come on, take a seat. I've got a couple of questions I'd like to ask you and no doubt you have some for me as well."

After taking some time to calm down, the nun, whose name I learned is Asia Argento, asked me about what happened between Raynare, the Fallen Angel, and me. I gave her a brief rundown of my encounter with her persona as Amano Yuuma taking care to leave out the details of our fight in the park.

"I see…" Asia mutters after I finish my story, a mixture of relief and sadness in her voice.

It seems like the girl held a little bit of fondness in her heart for the Fallen Angel. That or she's just sad over the loss of a life.

"So, now that you know my story, what's yours? What are you doing in Japan of all places, and why are you with a Fallen Angel?"

"Eh? Well… Um…"

Asia began her tale of how she was exiled from by the Vatican after healing an injured Devil who appeared on the doorstep of the church she was stationed at. After that, she was contacted by the Fallen Angels and was escorted to this town by none other than Raynare and three other Fallen Angels by the names of Dohnaseek, Kalawarner, and Mittelt. As for what happened after, she wasn't exactly treated well by the Fallen Angels, but they didn't abuse her either. The most abuse she received came from an exorcist called Freed, but surprisingly it was Raynare that helped keep that man in check. However, with her gone now, the other Fallen Angels don't care enough to protect Asia so she took the chance to run away when nobody was paying attention.

After hearing her story, there were a few parts of it that stuck to my mind. First was the injured Devil she healed. There'd be no reason for why a Devil of all people would go to a church to ask for help. That whole situation just smells like a setup. Second, I doubt the church teaches their followers magic that can benefit Devils in any way. If anything the church's healing magic should harm Devils, so this girl probably holds a healing-type Sacred Gear. Third, I doubt the Fallen Angels took her in out of empathy for a fellow outcast. They're probably planning something with her, and they don't need for her to be around until the time comes which is why they let her escape.

It seems like she's just being treated as some kind of tool.

"Tch."

I unconsciously click my tongue which startles the young girl.

"Eep! S-Sorry!" Asia squeaks out.

Damn. How the hell can she be so cute without even trying?

"No. Sorry about that. I just couldn't stand the idea of someone like you going through such hardships.

Pulling out my phone, I check the time. Already six, huh? Alright.

I stand up a stretch before turning to Asia and holding out my hand.

"You're probably hungry, right? How about we go get something to eat? My treat."

The girl stares at my hand then looks up at me, before a letting out a surprised gasp.

"Eh? B-but… I-I can't just…"

"Remember; those who are faithful are rewarded by God, and I can tell that you're still pious even after being extricated by the church. Just think of this as one of those rewards and accept it."

That might have come out sounding like I was claiming to be God, but Asia seems to have gotten the meaning. Nodding, she takes my hand and I pull her up.

"Come on. I know a good place not too far from here," I say with a smile.

Leading her to the family restaurant I often go to, the two of us are seated next to a window as the waitress hands us the menus. Asia's garb draws more than a few stares from the patrons and staff, but the girl herself seems oblivious to it as she stares at the interior of the restaurant in wonder.

"Take a look and order whatever you want. The menu has pictures and some English in it as well."

"Eh? Ah! Y-Yes!"

As Asia begins to scan through the menu, I take some time to gather my thoughts. Ddraig mentioned during the brief conversation we had that the three factions, Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils, waged a long, arduous war that nearly drove each race to extinction before a ceasefire was called. Despite that there are still high tensions between the races and more than a few skirmishes have broken out. If that's the case, then why are Rias' group, in assuming that this city is their territory, letting these Fallen Angels do as they please in this city? It's impossible for her not to notice four Fallen Angels and an exorcist enter her territory. Don't tell me she's utilizing the same plan of waiting until Asia is dead before resurrecting her. Then that would confirm my suspicions that Asia holds a Sacred Gear, and a powerful one at that. It would also imply that Rias knows the Fallen Angels' plans. She's certainly a crafty one, I'll give her that.

Returning my attention back to Asia, I see that her gaze is fixated on the picture of a ketchup covered omurice with a little flag sticking out of the mound of egg.

"Do you want to eat that?" I ask.

"Hawah!" The girl jumps in a seat before blushing and burying her face in the menu. "Um… Y-Yes, but is it really okay? All the food here seems really expensive…"

Expensive? The item she's looking at is only 800 yen and it even comes with a drink of your choice. Unless…

"Asia. Do you know what the Japanese yen is?"

"Yen?"

Ah… She doesn't know. Well, I guess it kind of makes sense if she doesn't have anyone to explain things to her, and she's probably led a pretty sheltered life back at the church, too. That kind of innocence is really quite special.

"Pfha," my mouth makes some kind of strangled wheezing noise in my feeble attempt to disguise my laugh as a cough. Clearing my throat, I give a brief explanation of currency exchange between countries.

After listening to my mini-lecture, the girl's face turns even redder as she hides behind the menu once again.

"O-Oh…"

In any case, I guess it's about time to order. Calling the waitress over, I order the omurice set for Asia and a hamburger steak for me.

As we waited for our food, I decided to teach Asia a little bit about Japanese culture along with some basic greetings and phrases she can use. That was how our first dinner together went for the most part. Watching Asia enjoy her food like that with such a childlike innocence helped me cement my decision.

I will protect this girl.

* * *

 **Omake: A Princess' Duties I**

Taking a deep breath, I wipe away the sweat dripping down my forehead with the sleeve of my loose-fitting gi before holding out my hand for the girl lying on the ground in front of me.

"Not bad. You're getting better already, Suzuki-san," I say with a smile while pulling her up back onto her feet.

"Ahaha… No way. I've still got a long way to go before I reach you or the captain's level."

"In any case, your footwork is quite good, and your kicks are quite powerful. Just focus a bit more on your recovery. You leave yourself too open after your attacks."

"Yes! Thank you! I'll keep that in mind!"

As the girl walks over to the side to join the rest of the members of the club resting after the sparring session, their captain, a tomboyish girl called Shimazu Tomoyo, walks over to me and slaps me on my back.

"Still as tough as ever, huh Saya-chan? Man. Watching all those matches got me all fired up too! Think you can go another round left in ya?"

Shaking my head, I smile in defeat.

"Haha. Alright, alright. Fine. I know you won't take no for an answer."

"Your damn right I won't! Come on! I'm itching to get started!"

Rolling my shoulders, I take up position as my opponent slides into stance across from me. By now, the girls on the sidelines have begun to talk excitedly amongst themselves.

"Let's have a good match, Tomoyo."

"Heh. Right back 'atcha!"

A couple of tense seconds pass as the two of us stare each other down before the club member acting as the referee signals the start of the match.

I can't afford to go easy on someone like her. Even though I'm the better in terms of experience, her kinetic vision combined with her reflexes and physical ability are nothing to scoff at. Not to mention karate isn't exactly my specialty.

A fist suddenly fills my vision forcing me to step backwards to avoid it.

That's the reigning regional champion for you. She managed to close the distance between us in almost in instant without taking her feet off the floor. Tomoyo continues to push forward in her signature hyper style technique comprised of flurries of fast strikes with high and low kicks and it takes all my effort to just defend. Before long she's managed to push me to the edge.

"Heh. What's wrong, Saya-chan? No need to hold back. Come at me with everything you've got!"

She's right. I don't stand a chance against her with karate.

"Ah geez, fine! Have it your way."

I switch into an unorthodox boxing style with my right arm hanging loosely at a right angle in front of me with my left pulled up near my chin.

A feral grin descends upon Tomoyo's face as she dashes in once more, but I'm ready for her this time. My right arm flashes out and snakes through her defences to strike at her collarbone causing her to stagger backwards. Taking advantage of the opening, I crouch low and lunge forward aiming to grab her leg. The same leg I was aiming for shoots forward towards my head in a low kick. I manage to twist my body to avoid it as Tomoyo pivots and I feel something crashing into the back of my head.

Damn. I didn't expect for her to be able to change the trajectory of her kick like that.

Planting my hands on the floor to steady myself, I pull myself up into a handstand before springing myself back onto my feet just in time to see another kick come flying towards me. I barely manage to raise my arms up to block it, and the force put behind the attacks sends me staggering backwards.

I'm really not that good at unarmed combat, huh. Guess I'll just have to put all my eggs into one basket.

I step forward into a punch, I push my opponent's arm away, and do the same with her other arm coming to strike me. Like this, I quickly close the distance between us until we're separated only by twenty centimetres as I continue bat away Tomoyo's punches and kicks forcing her to resort to striking with only her elbows and knees. My defence slips and I catch a knee in my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. As I struggle to recover, I see Tomoyo preparing for a final strike.

Ah man. Guess it's my loss. Even my trump card wasn't able to best her karate technique.

Her two fists collide into my chest and I'm sent flying backwards before landing on my back.

The room is silent save for the sounds of my heart hammering away in my ears and my ragged breaths.

Finally, as if broken from a trance, the referee calls the match and the Karate club members break out in applause and cheers.

"Haha… hah… That's our champ for you…" I wheeze before pushing myself into a sitting position. "You're crazy tough."

"Hehe. You're no push over yourself, Saya-chan. Those skills of yours are sure to take you to the top of the MMA world if you ever look into professional fighting." Tomoyo replies with a wide grin while bending down and holding her hand out to me. "You sure you don't want to join the Karate club?

I grab her hand, and find myself being lifted off my feet until I'm standing again.

"Sorry Tomoyo, but you know how I am."

"Hah! Yeah, yeah, I got it! Run along now. That spar ate up a lot more time than I thought, and you have some other people to help out too, right?"

Glancing at the clock on the wall, I notice that it was almost time for my next appointment with the Art club.

"Oh crap! You're right!"

I run into the repurposed storage room and quickly change into my school uniform before running out of the building while saying a brief goodbye to the club members.

"Thanks again for you help, Saya-chan! I'll be sure to call on you again if we need your help!" Tomoyo calls after me.

Continuing to run, I flash a thumb up behind me before rounding a corner.

Like I thought, the quickest way to improve my fighting abilities is to spar with opponents stronger than me. In that case, I'll keep periodically visiting the Karate, Kendo, and Judo clubs in order to increase my abilities while keeping up appearances by helping out the other non-combat clubs.

This body isn't exactly special in any ways, so I have to train harder in order to become stronger.

Alright. First off, though, is to go model for the Art club. Knowing some of the girls there, no doubt they'll ask me to pose nude for them again.

I let out a heavy sigh. Hopefully they won't try to grope me like last time, but if push comes to shove I'll just run away.

Despite feeling a sudden drop in motivation, I continue on my way to my next destination.

* * *

 **-Stat Sheet-**

 **Master:** (N/A)

 **Evil Piece:** (N/A)

 **Name:** Saya Hyoudou

 **Titles:** The Dimensional Ruler, Blue Messiah, Hound of the Vatican, Disgraced Azure Knight

 **Sex:** Female

 **Race:** Human

 **Height:** 5'5" (167cm)

 **Alignment:** Neutral Good

 **Parameters:**

 **Strength:** D

 **Endurance:** D+

 **Agility:** C

 **Magic:** E-

 **Luck:** A++

 **Weapons:** Varied

 **Known Unique Weapons:** Holy Lance Longinus, Crimson Sun Blade, Holy Moon Sword, Holy Sword Caledfwlch [Unusable], Clarent, Neith's Holy Bow, Sessho-Seki Fragments [Unusable], Claiomh Solais, Joyeuse, Vorpal Sword, Deux Xiphos, Qing Long Yan Yue Dao, Laevateinn, Gae Bolg, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, Tyrfing, Hrunting, Dainsleif, Balmung, Valmanway, Burtgang, Kunitsuna, Muramasa, Parchment of Omniscience, Ascalon, Ig-Alima [Unusuable], Arondight, Caliburn, Excalibur Galatine,

 **Skills:**

 **Battle Continuation:** A - Makes it possible to fight even with deadly wounds and stay alive unless a fatal blow is received.

 **Charisma:** C- - Slightly boosts the morale and abilities of nearby allies.

 **Collector:** EX - Hoarded an uncountable number of rare items.

 **Disengage:** B - The ability to safely break away from combat.

 **Eye of the Mind (True):** A - Heightened capacity for observation, refined through experience.

 **Eye of the Mind (False):** C – A natural talent to foresee danger via an innate sixth sense.

 **Pioneer of the Stars:** EX - A unique skill given to heroes who became turning points in history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" are turned into "events that can be realized".

 **Abilities:**

 **Boosted Gear:** EX - A Sacred Gear that holds the ancient dragon Ddraig. It has the ability to double the user's strength every ten seconds as long as the user's body can handle the strain.

 **Dimensional Vault:** EX - A collection of items that Saya has collected during her journeys. It has an unlimited storage space.

 **Awakening:** EX - A psuedo-time stop ability that involves slowing down one's own perception of time by speeding up the body's processes. It has adverse effects on the user.

 **Adventurer's Insight:** EX - The ability to sense areas of civilization, dungeons, ruins, and treasure. It has a maximum range of 25 kilometers (15.5 miles).

 **Mad Enhancement:** A - Increases one's parameters but trades their sanity for it.

 **Power to Dominate a Dimension:** (N/A)

* * *

 **Harem Progress:**

 **Rias Gremory:** Rank 1

 **Akeno Himejima:** Rank 1

 **Yumi Kiba:** Rank 1

 **Koneko Toujou:** Rank 1

 **Asia Argento:** Rank 3


	3. Chapter 3: Death

**AN:** Sorry for another huge break between updates, but I've been wanting to make each chapter of the DRE Vol. 1 remake as high quality as I can. Also, I'm trying a separate form of line breaks since this the one built into this website is way too buggy. Once again, thank you all for your continued support.

* * *

"Kyahahaha! How pathetic! Raynare was pretty damn pathetic to get killed by a weakling like you!"

How? How did things get like this? I thought I could handle it. I thought I was strong enough.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't kill her until I've had my fun with this bitch! She looks like she'll be a nice one to break."

I couldn't save her. I couldn't protect her. She's dead because of me. Her belly torn open; her innocent expression twisted into a soundless scream.

"Hmph. Don't worry. No matter how many times we turn her into a pincushion, Kalawarner can just heal her right back up. We'll pay her back hundredfold for what she did to Raynare."

Pathetic. How much more pathetic can I be? I'm no hero. I was foolish in thinking that I was ever a hero.

"Come. Scream for me more, won't you? We aren't done with you yet."

I can't feel a thing anymore. It feels like my body is not my own. Somewhere in the distance, I can hear somebody howling in despair. It sounds inhuman: The sound of an animal being tortured endlessly.

Just how did things end up like this?

Bracing myself against the metal shelf, I push with all my might, causing it screech along the worn down floor. My companion covers her ears as she grimaces at the unpleasant sound. Once the cumbersome thing is out of the way, it reveals the unassuming door that was hidden behind it.

"This is it," I announce as I open the door and lead the way inside into a small storage space furnished with camping equipment. "Sorry it's not much, but it should be safe for you to stay in here for a while."

Right. The Fallen Angels wouldn't think to search in a place like this. Asia should be safe in here while I go deal with the problem.

"U-Um… You don't need to go so far to help me, Miss Saya," the nun mutters from the doorway. "You've already done so much for me."

Smiling, I gently take her hand and lead her inside.

"Don't be silly, Asia. There's no way I could leave you alone after hearing your story."

I sit Asia down on one of the folding chairs before pulling up another one and sitting down across from her. Asia seems to be restless as she nervously fidgets and glances around the room.

"There's no need to be so nervous, Asia," I tell the nun in an attempt to calm her.

"Ah, right, s-sorry."

Well, this isn't going to go anywhere. Holding back a sigh, I stand up from my seat and begin boiling a pot of water. About a minute passes before I take a couple packs of instant matcha, pour the contents of the packs into two separate mugs and then pour the hot water into the cups.

I hand one of the completed drinks to Asia while taking one for myself.

"Try some. It's not as good as when it's freshly made, but it'll help calm you down."

"Ah, thank you."

The nun looks down at the steaming green liquid before taking a tentative sip.

"It's… good."

Chuckling, I sit back in my seat and cross my legs.

"Glad to hear it. I was afraid that you wouldn't be used to the taste being a foreigner and all."

The two of us sit chatting for a bit longer before my phone suddenly goes off. Reaching into my pocket, I pull it out and check the screen to see that it's a text from my mom.

I send a quick reply that I was hanging out with a couple of friends before putting my phone back into my skirt pocket and standing up.

"Sorry, Asia, but it looks like my parents are getting worried. You can make use of anything I have in here. There's a sleeping back rolled up on the mattress in the corner, there's snacks in that green duffel bag in the corner, and some drinks in the blue cooler."

"Eh? Ah… Um… Alright," the nun replies sadly as she stares down at her lap.

Smiling, I stride up to her and pat her on the head.

"Don't worry. I'll come back tomorrow morning to check up on you."

That seemed to have brightened Asia's mood up a little as she nods and smiles back.

"Alright, I'll be leaving now," I say as I walk to the door before turning around to face Asia. "Take care."

"Yes. Thank you, Miss Saya. See you."

Opening the door, I step out into the abandoned factory once again and push the shelf back in front of the door. It almost feels like I've kidnapped her and now I'm imprisoning her, but this is for the best. There's no telling what the Fallen Angels and Rias would do to her if she was just wandering around outside.

Tomorrow. I'll need to prepare to raid that church tomorrow.

-xXx-

The bell chimes right on time, signalling the end of the school day. I quickly gather up my belongings and follow the rest of the crowd of students out into the hallway before splitting off from the group towards the old school building. It doesn't take very long for me to find the Occult Research club room again.

After parting ways with Asia yesterday I decided to try to do some research of my own into the Fallen Angel presence in this town. Apparently, there has been a string of bizarre murders that have been covered up that involve the victims being disembowelled and strung up like a cross with verses from the Holy Bible scrawled in blood somewhere near the body. It's pretty obvious that these murders are related to the Fallen Angels in some way.

Not bothering to knock, I push open the heavy doors and walk into the Victorian styled room. Rias and Himejima are already here engaged in a game of chess. The raven-haired beauty is the first to notice me since her seat is facing the door.

"Ara, Saya-chan, good afternoon," she says with her usual pleasant smile as she stands to greet me.

Rias turns to face me with a surprised expression as if she wasn't expecting to see me ever again and stands to receive me as well.

"Hyoudou-san, to what do we owe the pleasure?" She asks.

"Fallen Angels," I reply curtly. There's no reason why I should treat them with respect when they haven't earned it. "There's more Fallen Angels in this town than just the one that attacked me. Were you aware of that?"

Rias visibly grimaced at the mention of Fallen Angels, but nods begrudgingly.

"Yes. We know."

Points for honesty, but she isn't in the clear yet.

"And why haven't you done anything about that?"

"That's…"

For once, the princess seems to be at a loss for words.

I can't help but sigh. Walking up to her, I stop just short of reaching Rias when I sense a huge flair of magical energy erupt from Himejima.

"You are not a part of our Peerage so I'm afraid that information is not privy to you," Himejima says. Her words and appearance as sweet as honey making the killing intent radiating out of her all the more terrifying.

A cold sweat begins to run down my back as my mouth suddenly dries up and I find myself unable to say anything. I've only met a few people before who could make me feel like this. To think that a high school girl would be one of them. My whole body involuntarily shivers as I shake my head to try to break out of her pressure. I feel some of the tension leave as feeling returns to my body.

"Fine," I say after regaining control of my vocal chords while turning around to leave. "I won't pry, but just know that I'm going to take care of your little problem with pests tonight."

Without waiting for a reply, I walk out of the room just in time to pass Kiba and Tojou who glanced at me quizzically.

I manage to make it out of the old school building before inhaling a sharp breath. My fist connects against the wooden wall and punctures through and the pain helps school my hammering heart back into its regular rhythm.

Dammit… These feelings will only get in the way. I have no use for them.

Gritting my teeth, I pull my hand out of the wall, scraping it against the splintered wood before leaving the campus and heading towards the abandoned factory. Along the way I bandaged up my injured hand up and bought some cold drinks and snacks. There's not much to do for Asia in a cramped room like that so I hope she hasn't gone stir crazy.

My feet come to a sudden halt when I finally reach the abandoned factory where I hid Asia only to find a smouldering wreckage awaiting me. Quickly running over to the fresh ruins, I begin searching through the rubble for any sign of the golden haired nun. Again. It's happening again. I've glimpsed a small shred of light through this unending darkness only for it to be snatched away.

They got her. I was naïve in thinking that they wouldn't find her.

This is most likely a warning: 'Stay away unless you want to be destroyed'. It looks like I'll have to change my plans. If Asia is still alive I'll need to go rescue her right away. The embers are still fresh so that means the attack wasn't too long ago. I might still make it in time.

Clinging onto my last shred of hope, I take off sprinting towards the abandoned church. I've finally found a chance to redeem myself. I'm not going to let go of this chance get away from me. If I lose Asia… I don't know if I'll be able to keep myself from shattering.

I know it's reckless and stupid to just go rushing into an enemy stronghold unprepared like this, I should know that more than anyone, but I've already lost too much.

Dammit, dammit, dammit!

On my way to the church I end up drawing more than a couple of curious stare from the people I pass by. Once or twice I hear my name being called, but I ignore them and keep pressing on. By the time I reach the old, ruined church I'm panting and out of breath.

Pressing forward, I ignore my fatigue and crash through the rotting wooden doors and stumble into the church. Asia is strung up on a cross wearing nothing but a plain white dress surrounded by a group people dressed in black clerical clothing. Flying above them are three Fallen Angels, a man wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora, a woman wearing a maroon suit coat with a matching miniskirt, and a little girl dressed as a goth loli.

"Hmph. It seems our little pest has finally arrived," the man announces with a confident sneer. "It's hard to believe that Raynare was killed by this pathetic thing."

Ignoring everything else in the room for the moment, my eyes focus on Asia's unmoving form. I can faintly see the blonde nun's chest rising and falling in time with her breath.

Good. She's still alive. I made it in time. In that case, I'll take care of the small fry first. There's eight of them in total, huh. Since this is an isolated area I shouldn't have any problems with using guns.

Drawing a matching pair of pistols from my Vault, I immediate open fire on the humans while running forwards. They drop like flies as each bullet finds their mark in the center of each of their foreheads.

Now to take care of those pesky Fallen Angels. Discarding the now empty guns, I pull out a pair of submachine guns and begin spraying a hail of bullets towards the flying enemies who swerve through the air to avoid the bullets.

My arms go numb from trying to keep the recoil under control until the magazines run empty.

Rolling to the side, I drop the guns as a spear made of condensed light crashed into the pews beside me and disintegrated them. This time I pull out Gan Jiang and Mo Ye and give them a quick twirl before facing the three Fallen Angels.

"Tch. I thought Raynare said this bitch had the Twice Critical! Where the fuck is she pulling this shit from?" The goth loli shouts.

That man was the one who threw that extremely destructive spear at me. If I get hit by that then I'm as good as dead. Meanwhile, the goth loli seems to be a close range fighter by the way she's gripping her spear. Finally, the woman is probably good at sustained attacks in quick succession if the twin spears held in her hands are of any indication.

This isn't good. Not only can these three fly, but their abilities compliment each other quite well.

Throwing Mo Ye into the air, I roll towards one of my discarded pistols, and sweep it off the ground just as the man and woman begin flinging attacks at me. I quickly parry a strike aimed at my throat from the goth loli while summoning a new clip in the air. Swinging my pistol, I catch the magazine in midair and chamber a bullet before firing off a shot aimed towards the goth loli's face. Unfortunately, she twists her head to the side just enough for the bullet to graze her cheek. I press the advantage as the goth loli tries to back away by using the pews at footholds to circle around behind her. As she raises her spear up to block my feint, I pull back and snap off two shots at her abdomen. Snarling while clutching at her bleeding stomach, the small Fallen Angel spread her wings and retreated back into the air as a barrage of light spears came flying towards me that I leap away from.

A pained scream originating from the goth loli resonates through the church as a result of Mo Ye slicing clean through and severing one of her pitch black wings, but before I can finish her off a sharp pain explodes from my left leg.

"Man, I leave for two seconds and come back to find some school girl tearing up my home. The hell's going on here?"

Struggling to stay standing, I glance back towards the entrance of the church to see another of those freaks dressed in a priest's garb standing there with revolver gripped in his hand; its barrel still smoking from the shot he fired into my leg.

So there was another one.

Shit!

I redirect my aim at the new arrival, but before I can put a bullet between his eyes I feel a spear pierce through my lower back. Before I can do anything else, I find myself being pinned to the floor as multiple more spears run through me. Blood spews from my mouth as my lungs are punctured. My body is racked with pain and it takes every last bit of willpower I have to remain conscious.

"Hmph. Your assistance was unneeded, Freed," the trenchcoat says with disdain in his voice.

"Eeeeeeh? From where I was standing it looked like the little lady was in trouble," the newcomer replies in a childlike tone.

I hear a pair of light footsteps approach and stop beside before feeling a foot stomp down on my head and begin grinding my face into the floor.

"You bitch! Fuck you! I'll kill you! Look at what you did to my wing! Fucker! Shitface! Die! Die! Die!" The goth loli screams as she continuously stomps on me.

"Mittelt, that's enough! I think I have an idea as to what we can do with this pest," I hear the woman say.

Fighting through the pain, I manage to raise my head enough to see her land beside Asia's still unconscious form.

Without warning, her hand shoots forward and embeds itself into the nun's stomach. The girl's eyes snap open as she lets out an ear piercing shriek.

Dammit, dammit, fuck!

My body screams at me as I force myself back onto my feet. The spears conjured of condensed light had vanished by now leaving nothing behind but gaping holes oozing crimson as memoires.

It burns.

The world in front of me is blanketed by a thin veil of red.

Each step forward I take is punctuated by a sharp stab.

"Saya..!"

I hear my name being called.

Asia. Asiaasiaasiaasiaasiaasiaasiaasiaasiaasiaasiaasia.

With Gan Jiang gripped loosely in my hand, I take a blind swing once I reach the altar. The blade connects with air and, losing my balance, I stumble forward and collapse in front of the cross.

My eyes meet with Asia's now lifeless ones.

I've failed.

"Asia…"

"Kyahahaha! How pathetic! Raynare was pretty damn pathetic to get killed by a weakling like you!"

How? How did things get like this? I thought I could handle it. I thought I was strong enough.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't kill her until I've had my fun with this bitch! She looks like she'll be a nice one to break. Ihihihi!"

I couldn't save her. I couldn't protect her. She's dead because of me. Her belly torn open; her innocent expression twisted into a soundless scream.

"Hmph. Don't worry. No matter how many times we turn her into a pincushion, Kalawarner can just heal her right back up. We'll pay her back hundredfold for what she did to Raynare."

Pathetic. How much more pathetic can I be? I'm no hero. I was foolish in thinking that I was ever a hero.

"Come. Scream for me more, won't you? We aren't done with you yet."

I can't feel a thing anymore. It feels like my body is not my own. Somewhere in the distance, I can hear somebody howling in despair. It sounds inhuman: The sound of an animal being tortured endlessly.

A pale green light enters my vision.

I shouldn't have tried.

 **[Are you planning to just give up?]**

Opening my eyes, I find myself standing in an endless void of white facing a gigantic red dragon.

"Ddraig…" The name pours forth from my lips, my voice barely above a whisper.

 **[I've finally woken up, and the first thing I see is my partner getting her ass handed to her. The hell's wrong with you?]**

I don't answer him. Instead, I sit down and hug my knees to my chest.

 **[You know, I watched your memories when I was asleep. It seems you've been through a lot.]**

I nod.

 **[It's understandable why you're so broken up about everything. You're only human, after all.]**

Human… Do I even have the right to call myself one anymore?

 **[Listen up, Saya. You're my partner now. Do you know what that means?]** The great red dragon doesn't wait for me to reply before continuing, **[You're the partner of the Red Dragon Emperor; the Welsh Dragon Ddraig! If you have the time to be moping around then you have time to crush your enemies!]**

Why should I? What's the point? What's the point of anything anymore? I'm worthless.

 **[Dammit, girl! Wake up! Open your eyes! The world isn't just filled with pain! Even in your last life you have happy memories, don't you? Are you planning to just throw those feelings you received away?]**

My last life… My mentor whom I killed, my wife that was sacrificed, my daughter whom I couldn't see, my assistant whom fought to the death for me, and the young boy I left behind when I died.

My mentor… An awkward, crude woman who tried her best to raise me despite our situation.

My wife… Her radiant smile, her ever caring nature, and her endless worry for me.

My daughter… Cursed to live an unfulfilled life, but still a little bundle of endless energy and joy.

My assistant… With nowhere else to go, I took her in like my mentor did me. We shared many a cold night together when travelling.

My adopted son… I was a worthless mother who couldn't properly care for him, but he gave me a reason to keep living until I succumbed to my illness.

Even before them are the friends and lovers I've encountered and lived my life with.

I find my thoughts drifting back to a time when I was just a simple adventurer; journeying across the world and meeting new people.

That's right. I was so blinded by grief that I couldn't see what mattered anymore. Just like back then, I have to keep moving forward. The enemies I've met, the friends I've abandoned, and the loved ones I've killed. They're all facets of my heart that I was afraid of. I can't change the past, nor do I have any intentions of returning to it so the only thing I can do to honour the memories of the people who cared for me is to keep moving forward.

Asia is gone, so the most I can do for her now is to avenge her and to make sure nothing like this happens ever again.

 **[Hmph. It seems you've come to a decision. Good.]**

Standing up, I look Ddraig in the eyes as he lowers his head towards me.

 **[Now, why don't we go show those flies just who they're messing with?]**

My vision fades to black and my senses return to the real world.

"Tch. She's not dead already is she? I haven't even paid this bitch back in full yet!"

 **[Let's go, partner. It's time to tear these upstarts to shreds. BOOST!]**

Strength returns to my limbs, enough for me to pull myself out of the pool of blood I was drowning in.

"H-Hey, what the hell? How is this bitch standing?!"

There's a red gauntlet with talons that resemble a dragon's claws now attached to my right arm with a gleaming green jewel on the back of my hand.

 **[BOOST!]**

Ddraig's voice echoes clearly from within my head accompanied by another surge of power.

Sweeping Gan Jiang off the floor, I take one last glance back at Asia's corpse before springing towards the Fallen Angel closest to me. The blade sinks deep into the woman's chest as her eyes shoot wide open in shock.

 **[BOOST!]**

With another push, my arm follows the short sword and bursts out behind her with her still heart impaled on the end of it. I cast her lifeless body aside before leaping into the air towards the goth loli who recoils in fear.

"Shit! What the fuck?! Stay away from me!"

She quickly summons a spear in her hand and thrusts it towards me. I raise Gan Jiang to block it only for the spear to crash straight through the short sword, sending its shards scattering through the air.

 **[BOOST!]**

Casting aside the broken weapon, I lunge forward and latch onto the Fallen Angel's wings. My fingers dig into the black appendages, causing the girl to scream, before I tear them off. After dropping the wings, I envelop the Fallen Angel's face in my gauntlet and squeeze.

There's a sickening squelch accompanied by a loud crunch as her head is crushed.

 **[BOOST!]**

I spring off of the goth loli's carcass and twist away from a light spear that soars past me and obliterates the dead Fallen Angel's body.

"Tch!" Clicking his tongue, the last remaining Fallen Angel summons another spear and aims it at me.

He knows I can't dodge in midair.

 **[BOOST!]**

Before the spear can hit me, I snatch it out of the air with my gauntlet and following its momentum; I spin and send it flying back to its owner. The spear crashes into the man and vaporizes him in the subsequent explosion.

With the last Fallen Angel dead, I land back on the floor next to Asia and scan the room for the last remaining enemy.

He's not here. Did he run away?

 **[BURST!]**

All of a sudden, I feel all my strength leave my body, forcing me to steady myself against the cross. Along with it came an onslaught of pain from the holes littering my body.

Damn. I guess this is it for me.

 **[Heh. You did good, partner. I'd say you're worthy of taking up my mantle.]**

Summoning up what little energy I have left, I remove Asia's corpse from the cross and gently hug her to my chest before collapsing with my back against the ruined altar.

I find myself absentmindedly funning a hand through the nun's golden hair as I sit and bathe in the sun's dying rays streaming through the collapsed ceiling.

My breathing slows, my vision grows dim. I've felt this feeling countless times before; death.

"Sorry, Asia…"

Those simple words tumble out of my mouth as the last vestiges of gold leaves my vision replaced by red.

* * *

 **-Stat Sheet-**

 **Master:** (N/A)

 **Evil Piece:** (N/A)

 **Name:** Saya Hyoudou

 **Title:** The Dimensional Ruler

 **Sex:** Female

 **Race:** Human

 **Height:** 5'5" (167cm)

 **Alignment:** Neutral Good

 **Parameters:**

 **Strength:** D

 **Endurance:** D+

 **Agility:** C

 **Magic:** E-

 **Luck:** A++

 **Weapons:** Varied

 **Known Unique Weapons:** Holy Lance Longinus, Crimson Sun Blade, Holy Moon Sword, Holy Sword Caledfwlch, Clarent, Neith's Holy Bow, Sessho-Seki Fragments, Claiomh Solais, Joyeuse, Vorpal Sword, Deux Xiphos, Qing Long Yan Yue Dao, Laevateinn, Gae Bolg, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, Tyrfing, Hrunting, Dainsleif, Balmung, Valmanway, Burtgang, Kunitsuna, Muramasa, Parchment of Omniscience, Ascalon, Ig-Alima, Arondight, Caliburn, Excalibur Galatine

 **Skills:**

 **Battle Continuation:** A - Makes it possible to fight even with deadly wounds and stay alive unless a fatal blow is received.

 **Charisma:** C- - Slightly boosts the morale and abilities of nearby allies.

 **Collector:** EX - Hoarded an uncountable number of rare items.

 **Disengage:** B - The ability to safely break away from combat.

 **Eye of the Mind (True):** A - Heightened capacity for observation, refined through experience.

 **Eye of the Mind (False):** C – A natural talent to foresee danger via an innate sixth sense.

 **Pioneer of the Stars:** EX - A unique skill given to heroes who became turning points in history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" are turned into "events that can be realized".

 **Abilities:**

 **Boosted Gear:** EX - A Sacred Gear that holds the ancient dragon Ddraig. It has the ability to double the user's strength every ten seconds as long as the user's body can handle the strain.

 **Dimensional Vault:** EX - A collection of items that Saya has collected during her journeys. It has an unlimited storage space.

 **Awakening:** EX - A psuedo-time stop ability that involves slowing down one's own perception of time by speeding up the body's processes. It has adverse effects on the user.

 **Adventurer's Insight:** EX - The ability to sense areas of civilization, dungeons, ruins, and treasure. It has a maximum range of 25 kilometers (15.5 miles).

 **Mad Enhancement:** A - Increases one's parameters but trades their sanity for it.

 **Power to Dominate a Dimension:** (N/A)

 **Harem Progress:**

 **Rias Gremory:** Rank 1

 **Akeno Himejima:** Rank 1

 **Yumi Kiba:** Rank 1

 **Koneko Toujou:** Rank 1

 **Asia Argento:** Rank 3


	4. Chapter 4: Reincarnation

**AN:** Guess what? I'm alive and I'm back. To those of you who have been waiting for DRE, I apologize for the delay. I was caught up with some personal issues and I lost my motivation to do pretty much anything. To my fans who have been following me since I started the original series, thank you for sticking with me for so long. Your support truly means a lot to me, and to any newcomers, thank you for taking the time to read these stories.

-xXx-

A dream. I'm lost in an endless dream; watching memories rewind in double time in front of me like an old VCR. My memories? I don't know. It's all so fleeting. Each time I try to grasp out at one of them it disappears into the aether.

Who am I?

I don't know.

I don't know anything.

My mind is a jumbled mess of meaningless pictures. Faces with no name, and voices with no sound permeate my consciousness.

No. Not quite. At the forefront of it all stands a single name.

Asia.

For some reason just the sound of her name draws out a feeling of wanting to protect her from within the deepest reaches my heart.

She's important to me.

I can't say why, though.

Slipping away. I'm slipping away.

Who am I?

Who is she?

I don't know.

Why don't I know?

Who… am I?

-xXx-

I crack open an eye before immediately hissing and shielding it from the sun streaming through my window and onto my face.

That's strange. I never really disliked the sun before so why did I react like that? In fact, it almost kind of hurts in a way.

Groaning, I roll onto my side and fumble blindly with my alarm clock as it continues to spout out classic yandere lines. After successfully managing to turn it off, I try to sit up only to find that something's restraining me.

Actually, why am I naked? I always wear pyjamas when I go to sleep.

Wait. Now that I think about it, what did I even do yesterday?

Why can't I remember?

A sharp pain stabs through my head as I try to recall yesterday's events.

Did I get into some kind of accident? Then why am I in my own room instead of the hospital?

Looking to my side, I notice a small tuft of red hair poking out from underneath my sheets accompanied by a pair of milky white arms snaking out and holding onto me.

Don't tell me… That shade of crimson can only belong to one person.

Why am I naked in bed with one of the idols of our school?!

"Mmrf…"

She lets out a soft moan before I suddenly find myself being pulled into her body. My heartbeat quickens and blood rushes to my face as I feel two mounds of soft flesh press into my modest chest. Every time I breathe in, I smell the faint scent of peaches drifting from her hair. That's the same kind of shampoo I use.

Why is this happening?!

No. Panicking won't do me any good. I could have passed out yesterday and Gremory-senpai decided to take me home to nurse me, and the reason she's naked is probably because that's how she usually sleeps. Yes. That has to be the reason. She is a foreign girl so her method of doing things is probably different from Japanese conventions.

Maybe I should try waking her up.

"Um… Excuse me, Gremory-senpai?" I whisper.

The girl stirs, mumbling something incoherent, and pulls my face into her chest.

So soft… They're like fluffy marshmallows…

Wait, no! That doesn't matter right now!

"Gremory-senpai," I repeat slightly louder.

Still no good.

"Gremory-senpai, wake up!"

"Mm… What..?"

Finally!

The redhead blinks rapidly and rubs her eyes before her gaze falls on me, still stuck between her cleavage.

"Hyoudou-san?" She mumbles wearily.

"Gremory-senpai, can you let me go? It's getting hard to breathe," I say into her abundant chest.

"Oh, my apologies!"

As she lets me go, a complicated mixture of disappointment and relief washes over me.

"Um, thank you, senpai…"

Great. This is awkward. What should I say now?

Luckily, it was Gremory-senpai that broke the silence for me.

"How are you feeling, Hyoudou-san? Do you have any aches or pains anywhere?" She asks with a kind smile.

So I did get into some kind of accident yesterday?

I perform a quick check of my body, but find nothing that seems out of place. In fact, I feel strangely vigorous.

Shaking my head, I answer, "No. I don't think so. If you don't mind me asking, what happened to me yesterday? I don't quite remember…"

Gremory-senpai's eyes widened in surprise at that.

"You don't remember a thing?" She asks.

"No. Sorry."

"I see…" Senpai appears to think for a moment before returning her attention back to me. "Well, in that case I will explain later after classes today. Do you mind coming to my clubroom?"

"Ah, no. I don't mind, I guess, but why not now?"

"Because we will be late for school."

Eh?

"Aaaaaaahhhh! We're gonna be late!"

I didn't think that so much time had passed!

Leaping out of bed, I dash over to my dresser and hastily pull out a plain pair of white panties and a sports bra. Meanwhile, Gremory-senpai had discarded my blanket and was now stretching with her arms above her head, giving me an eyeful of her curvaceous body. My eyes unconsciously drift towards her naked form no matter how hard I try to tear my gaze away and I find myself staring at her.

I snap out of my trance after I hear my mother's voice call out from outside my room. "Saya-chan, are you up?"

Oh crap!

"I-I'm fine, mama!" I call back to her. "Don't worry! I'll be out soon, so don't come in!"

"Is everything okay? Why can't I come in?"

Why couldn't she have just left it at that?!

"Um… Because… I-I'm still putting my clothes on!"

"Oh come now. I'm your mother. I've seen you without clothes plenty of times. I'm coming in."

No no no no no no no no!

Leaving my bra half on and with my panties hanging off on leg, I stumble towards the door in a desperate attempt to close it, but I'm too late. It's already opening.

Ah… It's over.

I meet my dear mother's eyes as her gaze shifts from me to Gremory-senpai still sitting on my bed completely naked.

"Hello, mother," Gremory-senpai says with a pleasant smile. "I am Rias Gremory. It is a pleasure to meet you."

My mother doesn't respond for a few moments. Instead, she simply nods stiffly before leaving my room and shutting the door behind her.

Dear mother. Please forgive me for causing this misunderstanding. I just hope you haven't forsaken your daughter before I get a chance to explain to you.

-xXx-

"Haaaaaahhh…" I heave a sigh as I let my face hit my desk with a loud thud.

Hello desk. You'll always be there to comfort me with your cool, smooth surface.

"Woah. That was a mighty fine sigh there, Sayachi," I hear Kiryuu say from beside me. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, but things will be really awkward back at home now…" I mumble.

"Oh? Does this have anything to do with Gremory-senpai walking to school with you today?"

Ugh… Just remembering what happened this morning is making me embarrassed. Needless to say, after my dear mother witnessed the sight of Gremory-senpai naked in bed things were awkward around the breakfast table. Luckily, Gremory-senpai was able to diffuse the situation with her natural charisma and some quick thinking excuses.

And now the school is chock full of rumours surrounding my relationship with the crimson haired beauty.

Groaning, I try to bury my face further into my desk, albeit unsuccessfully.

"Come on! Tell me the deets, Sayachi! I'm your best friend aren't I?" Kiryuu urges.

"Well nothing really happened. I asked Gremory-senpai for some private tutoring and we ended up sleeping in the same bed, but that's about it."

Yeah. That was what she said to my mom to defuse the situation.

"Eeeehh? That's really it? There's gotta be more, right?"

Should I tell her the rest? If I properly explain things here then hopefully Kiryuu can get the word out.

"My mom walked in on us this morning and got the wrong idea…"

"Haha! What's with that? What? Were you two naked or something?"

I felt my face turn red at Kiryuu's guess, and nod.

"Wait, seriously?"

I nod again.

"Woah… Yeah. I probably would've gotten the wrong idea, too. You sure you didn't, you know, do it?"

"Unless she drugged me then took advantage of me, then I'm pretty sure we didn't"

"Hm, nah. I can't really imagine Gremory-senpai being the type of person who would do that."

"Right, right?"

Though that still doesn't alleviate any of the embarrassment I felt this morning.

"Oh! Hey, Sayachi, check it! The Prince is here!"

The Prince? That'd be Kiba-san.

Turning my head, I see the tomboyish girl standing at the doorway looking around the classroom for something, or somebody, as girls faun over her and guys stare her down with envy.

Our eyes meet and her smile widens before she begins elegantly stepping through the crowd of fangirls towards me.

Oh no. I hope she doesn't hate me for running away from her that one time. I mean… How else am I supposed to react when she suddenly just pins me on the wall and tries to kiss me? In hindsight, I probably should've just said no. Why didn't I just do that?

"Eh? What? Hey, Sayachi, she's coming over here!" Kiryuu whisper shouts into my ear.

"Hyoudou-san, it's nice to see you again," the Prince greets. "I have been tasked with escorting you to the clubroom by Gremory-senpai."

So when she said she'd send someone to pick me up, she meant Kiba Yumi? Couldn't she have picked someone less conspicuous? Not to mention this is going to be awkward as heck.

"Alright. Let's go," I say as nonchalantly as possible while getting out of my seat and slinging my bag over my shoulder.

I, along with a massive throng of fans, follow Kiba-san as she exits the classroom and leads the way out of the main building to the old school building. Strangely enough as we got closer to the old wooden building, less and less of the Prince's fan club followed us until it was only the two of us left. Entering the building, I felt a sense of déjà vu as I continue to trail along behind Kiba-san as we walk through the fairly well maintained building until we finally reach a set of heavy, oak double doors.

"Buchou," Kiba-san announces with a knock. "I have brought Hyoudou-san."

A muffled answer comes from within the clubroom, and Kiba-san opens the door before stepping aside, motioning for me to step inside.

Well here goes nothing.

I walk past the Prince and into the Victorian-themed room.

There's that feeling déjà vu again. I don't think I've ever been here and yet I feel like I've seen it before.

"Hyoudou-san," Gremory-senpai greets from behind a table sitting at the end of the room. "I'm glad that you could come here. Please, take a seat anywhere you'd like."

Let's see… The small white-haired girl sitting on one of the velvet couches eating sweets is Toujou Koneko, the school mascot, and the girl with black hair tied into a ponytail with an orange ribbon is Himejima Akeno. Then who's the foreign girl with blonde hair?

She catches my gaze, smiles and waves shyly at me

Do I know her?

Yes. I do.

But from where?

Ugh!

A sharp pain coursed through my head as I make my way over and sit down next to the blonde girl.

"Alright. Let's start with this; Hyoudou-san, can you tell me what is the last thing you remember?" Gremory-senpai asks as she leans forward on her desk.

The last thing I remember…

"Um… I think I headed back home yesterday right after class ended, but stopped by a grocery store to stock up on some things…" I mumble as I try to piece together yesterday's events. "Sorry. That's about it."

"Hm, I see."

Silence falls over the clubroom, save for the constant crunch of Toujou-san munching on her cookies.

"Gremory-senpai?"

Hearing my voice, the redhead perks up. "Ah, forgive me, Hyoudou-san. I was simply lost in thought for a moment. You're sure you don't remember anything else?"

I shake my head. "Nothing."

A strange mixture of disappointment and relief appears on Gremory-senpai's face for a split second before it's replaced by a good natured smile.

"Thank you, Hyoudou-san. Now, allow me to explain what happened to you yesterday," Gremory-senpai says. "To put it succinctly, you died yesterday."

I… Died?

"Ahahaha! S-Sorry, sorry," I somehow manage to choke out through my laughing fit. "I know you guys are the Occult Research Club, but that's going a little too far isn't it? Lemme guess, I died in some kind of accident and you guys revived me as some kind of demon through some black magic ritual, and now I have to do your bidding, right?"

Gremory-senpai gives an amused smile and nods. "You're not too far off with that guess."

Seriously?

The crimson-haired girl gets out of her seat and walks around the table so I can see her entire body before suddenly a pair of bat-like wings sprout out from her lower back. At the same time, the others all in the room also had the same wings pop out of nowhere.

"The truth is, Hyoudou-san, is that we are all Devils and you have become one as well," she states as she spreads her arms. "Welcome to the Occult Research Club."

Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain in my lower back accompanied by the sound of a pair of wings unfurling.

This isn't real.

This can't be real.

That's right. I must be dreaming. This entire day has been strange.

None of this is real. In a couple of moments, I'll wake up in my bed in my room.

"Um… Saya-san?"

I crack open an eye and see the blonde girl standing in front of me, nervously shifting around in front of me.

"I heard from Buchou-san," she says timidly. "Um, you may not remember, but you saved me yesterday."

Saved her? What does she mean by that?

Again! Another headache.

Did I really end up getting killed yesterday?

Every time I try to remember something, my head feels like it's being split open.

Is my memory all scrambled because I died?

 **[Girl. The blonde girl is telling you the truth.]**

A voice?! There's a voice inside my head?! Furthermore it sounds like an old man!

 **[I'm just going to ignore that old man part. More importantly, try holding out your left arm. Imagine that you're wearing a gauntlet.]**

Great. I get told I'm dead by a bunch of Devils who just so happen to be the most popular people in my school and now there's some random voice in my head telling me what to do.

Am I going crazy?

The voice in my head sighs.

 **[Just do it.]**

Despite all my misgivings about the current situation, I end up raising my left arm in front of me and visualize a scaled red gauntlet, reminiscent of a dragon's claw.

Huh. Strange. No idea why that came to mind.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light envelops the room and the same red gauntlet I envisioned encases my left arm. I hold it above me to inspect it; turning it back and forth underneath the light.

 **[Good. Now just play along and listen to the Gremory. She won't tell you the whole story, so I'll fill you in later when we're alone. Another thing, keep it a secret that you can communicate with me.]**

Before I could think up of a reply to the man's orders, the gauntlet disappears without a trace from my arm.

"That was your Sacred Gear," Gremory-senpai comments in surprise. "It's a divine tool created and gifted to humans. From the looks of things you possess the Boosted Gear which is a Longinus class Sacred Gear."

Ugh. What's with all of these terms?

Seemingly noticing the confused expression I have, Gremory-senpai rests a hand on my shoulder.

"My apologies. This must be a lot of information to take in right now. Why don't you go home and rest for today?" She suggests.

"Right. sounds like a good idea," I mumble while shaking my head. I still can't believe that any of this is happening.

My feet entangle themselves with a mind of their own as I stumble out of the room trying to ignore the splitting headache invading my skull.

 **[Good. Glad you got out of there. Couldn't stand that redhead's attitude anymore.]**

I nearly leap out of my skin after hearing the old man's voice inside of my head again just as I step past the school gates.

 **[Haha! Sorry about that, kid. Anyways I guess I should explain what's going on here, huh.]**

An explanation would be helpful. Yes. That would be very much appreciated thank you very much.

 **[Well, you died and got brought back to life by the redhead.]**

And..? You just summarized what Gremory-senpai already told me.

 **[I know. I'm getting to that. Yeesh. Youngsters these days have no patience. Getting back on track, you got killed by Fallen Angels trying to protect that blonde girl.]**

Alright… So Devils and Fallen Angels?

 **[Yes. Angels also exist, of course, but that's not important right now. What is important is that redhead is keeping quite a few secrets from you.]**

Secrets? I did get that feeling from her during the meeting.

 **[Your memory loss from getting killed isn't something she expected, but she's more than happy to take advantage of that. I only woke up yesterday so I'm not too sure about a lot of the details, but I can tell you that she's had her eye on you for quite a while now after looking into your memories.]**

Wait. You can see my memories? Can't you do something about that then?

 **[Sorry kid, but I think you're better off not remembering those things for a while. This'll give you a chance to live your life properly, or at the very least as close to it as possible while being a Devil.]**

Live my life properly? What's that supposed to mean? Why are you keeping secrets from me too?!

 **[Sorry, but it's for your own good.]**

You said you'd tell me everything!

No reply comes from the man as I walk the rest of the way home in silence mulling over all the information that was presented to me.

That night, I lay in bed tossing and turning trying to make sense of anything. Eventually I did fall asleep only to be plagued by nightmares I couldn't remember the contents of after the sun had risen.

-xXx-

"I know this may seem sudden, but we'll be assigning you a job starting today."

A few days had passed since I learned that I had been reincarnated as a Devil. The mysterious voice in my head didn't appear again so I couldn't ask any more questions, but I had more than enough work coming from Gremory-senpai. Not like it matters much anyway. I had spent the last couple of nights cramming so much information about the magical underworld, with a little bit of the overworld included, that I doubt I would've been able to ask the voice about anything that wasn't covered in the textbooks I received.

To summarize everything up, the magical world is comprised of mainly three factions: The Angels whom rule from Heaven and respond to God's will, the Fallen Angels whom are Angels that have sinned and have fallen out of God's favour, and the Devils whom reside in the Underworld that follow a sort of caste nobility system. A long time ago the three faction warred against each other until ultimately they came to a stalemate or else they'd risk mutual extinction of all their races. At that point a ceasefire was called and an era of shaky peace came to be. The Devil's adopted a system called Peerages where the noble families would resurrect members of the other races and turn them into Devils in order to bolster their numbers. This also served as a way for the nobles to assert their power over each other in bids called Rating Games where Peerages would be pit against each other.

To delve deeper into the Peerage system, it's based loosely on chess where the members of a Peerage are linked to chess pieces. Each piece has their advantages and disadvantages. The King is the head of the Peerage, in other words the Devil that reincarnates others. The Pawn is the weakest piece boasting a small boost in ability to those who are given it. However, Pawns are the most abundant piece and they can Promote their strength to a portion of a different piece's when fighting inside what is considered enemy territory. Next are Knights who boast tremendous speed, there are Rooks who receive a huge boost to their physical strength, and Bishops that get an increase in their magic abilities. Finally there's the Queen that receives all the gifts of the previous three classes. Apparently Gremory-senpai resurrected me as a Pawn with all eight of her pieces. The number of pieces one uses when resurrecting someone supposedly coincides with how strong the King and the target is. Meanwhile, as the what pieces the other members of the Occult Research club are, Himejima-senpai is the Queen, Kiba-san is a Knight, Toujou-san is a Rook, and Asia-chan is a Bishop. Gremory-senpai also mentioned having another Bishop but he's a shut-in that refuses to come out of his room.

To be honest, I'm surprised I remembered all of that in such a short time. Maybe the threat of a punishment if I didn't pass the quiz Gremory-senpai gave me was all the motivation I needed to get through it.

In any case, today I had gone to the club room immediately after classes as per Gremory-senpai's orders when I was greeted by a messenger bag filled to the brim with papers being shoved into my face.

"This is a bit sudden, but I think you two are ready for you first job now. You are to distribute these flyers throughout town with Asia's help."

Asia; the demure blonde girl that transferred into my class as well as the girl I supposedly saved. For the last couple of days she had been following me around like a lost puppy. Don't get me wrong. It was cute and all with those big doe-like eyes of hers, but I had no idea how to react to her. Needless to say, all sorts of rumours began spreading throughout the class and as a result the whole school as to my relationship with her.

The aforementioned girl nodded eagerly with determination at Gremory-senpai's order.

Ugh. Delivering flyers all around the city, huh. Kuoh isn't actually that large but it still sounds like a huge pain.

Speaking of huge pains, my induction into the Occult Research club, headed by the two most famous girls in our school, didn't go unnoticed either. Surprisingly enough the joint journalism alliance comprised of the Photography club, the News club, and the Broadcasting club didn't seem to pursue the issue as fervently as I expected.

"U-Uhm, let's do our best together, Saya-san!" Asia exclaims while pumping her fists in front of her.

Kuu..!

She's just too cute! That earnesty and pure-hearted innocence is almost too much for my heart to handle.

Clearing my throat, I take the bag and sling it over my shoulder.

"Alright, got it Buchou."

Gremory-senpai nodded absentmindedly at my response before turning to stare out the window, her brows furrowing slightly in displeasure.

Is there something out there?

Before I could question her about it, she quickly returns her gaze and smiles.

"Right. I'll be counting on you two."

That was strange… She doesn't normally space out like that does she? I've only been here for a few days but even I can tell she has something weighing on her mind.

Well it's probably a personal problem that an outsider like me shouldn't meddle in. She has the other members of the club to confide in, after all.

Leaving the club room, Asia and I head towards our home to retrieve a bicycle.

Right. She's started living together with me as well. It was a pretty big shock when she showed up at the front door with Gremory-senpai after school. After coming up with some excuses about Asia being a distant cousin of hers and how the Gremory household was undergoing some renovations at the moment, my parents were more than happy to welcome Asia into the house. I can't say it hasn't been nice, though. I'm an only child so having Asia around is like having a little sister even though we're around the same age.

"So, Asia, how are you finding school so far?" I ask, trying to start a conversation.

"Ah! It's really fun! Everyone's been really nice to me," she answers excitedly before her voice trails off almost to a whisper. "A-And um… I get to be with you, Saya-san…"

The slender arms wrapped around my waist tighten their grip as I feel Asia press herself into my back.

We continued like that chatting about the things Asia's learned and the friends she made, delivering the rest of the flyers by the time the sun went down before returning home.

"We're back!" I announce as I step into the house and take off my shoes.

My mother pokes her head out from the dining room, ladle in hand, with her favourite apron on.

"Welcome back, you two! Dinner's almost already so go ahead and get comfortable."

Asia giggles excitedly before turning to face me. "Okaa-san's food is always so good. It's much better than what I had back at the church."

Grinning, I pat her head. "Right? Her curry is to die for."

Taking off our shoes, we make our way into the dining room, following the delicious scent of freshly cooked fish and steamed rice.

I'm still troubled over my memory loss, but seeing Asia's pure, angel-like smile lifts the burden on my heart a little.

-xXx-

Letting out a small sigh, I shut the door to my room behind my back after bidding Asia good night.

Not bothering to put on pyjamas, I flop face first into my bed.

So I'm a Devil… Even now that I've had a few nights to sleep on it, I still can hardly believe it. Everything about the supernatural world that's right beneath our noses that Buchou has taught me… It just seems so unreal.

That and I wish everyone would stop being so secretive with me. Even when I try to ask Asia about what happened, she'd just shake her head and say she didn't remember much. I can tell she's telling the truth, though.

With my mind racing, I collapse face first onto my bed and slowly drift away to sleep.

" _This is for the best."_

Who's there?

I crack open my eyes to find myself suddenly standing in a vast, open field.

Is this a dream?

No. This feels too real to be a dream. I can feel everything from the breeze against my skin to the grass under my feet. Hell there's even a floral scent drifting across the field.

" _There's no need to remember."_

The voice seems to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

" _This is a chance for us to leave our past."_

From nowhere, a reflection of myself materializes in front of me accompanied by a dog with light brown fur with a white cloth tied around its neck.

" _Live. Find happiness. Do what I couldn't do. When the time comes, you will remember."_

What? What do you mean?! Who are you?!

" _I am you. We are one. I am the one that shut away your memories."_

My memories? Just how much did I forget?!

" _You'll find out eventually, and when that time comes, you will have to make a decision."_

A dark vignette encloses around my vision as cracks begin spreading all across this false world.

" _I'll be waiting."_

My other self sends me a strained smile, split in half by the fissures that had all but surrounded us.

Everything shatters.

I fall.

Shards of glass drift down past me into the endless abyss.

Shards of memories.

Just as I felt as if I had gained something, I had lost something irreplaceable.

 _Ah… When will this dream of mine end?_

-xXx-

 **-Stat Sheet-**

 **Master:** Rias

 **Evil Piece:** Pawn x8

 **Name:** Saya Hyoudou

 **Titles:** The Dimensional Ruler

 **Sex:** Female

 **Race:** Reincarnated Devil

 **Height:** 5'5" (167cm)

 **Alignment:** Neutral Good

 **Parameters:**

 **Strength:** D++

 **Endurance:** C+

 **Agility:** C++

 **Magic:** E-

 **Luck:** A

 **Weapons:** Varied

 **Skills:**

 **Battle Continuation:** A - Makes it possible to fight even with deadly wounds and stay alive unless a fatal blow is received.

 **Charisma:** C- - Slightly boosts the morale and abilities of nearby allies.

 **Disengage:** B - The ability to safely break away from combat.

 **Eye of the Mind (False):** C – A natural talent to foresee danger via an innate sixth sense.

 **Pioneer of the Stars:** EX - A unique skill given to heroes who became turning points in history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" are turned into "events that can be realized".

 **Abilities:**

 **Boosted Gear:** EX - A Sacred Gear that holds the ancient dragon Ddraig. It has the ability to double the user's strength every ten seconds as long as the user's body can handle the strain.

 **Relationship Progress:**

 **Rias Gremory:** Rank 1

 **Akeno Himejima:** Rank 1

 **Yumi Kiba:** Rank 1

 **Koneko Toujou:** Rank 1

 **Asia Argento:** Rank 3


	5. Chapter 5: Riser Phenex

**AN:** Another new chapter released so soon after the last one? Just what in the world is happening? Well I decided that I'd try to shorten the chapters to around 3000-5000 words. I've found that, after writing the previous version of DRE which averaged about 7000-9000 words a chapter, it was way too exhausting to fill so much content and also keep a constant release schedule. So instead I'll most likely start releasing a new chapter every weekend with the aforementioned word count. As such, I might cut out some parts of the original story I deem unimportant, change, and add some original content. In any case, I hope you all enjoy and continue to support my writing. Also, I love how this website's line break doesn't ever work. Like wow. It's frustrating.

-xXx-

Stifling a yawn, I trudge along the same old path to school with Asia humming cheerfully by my side. Even though I fell asleep pretty early last night, it really didn't feel like I got any rest at all.

"Say, Asia. What do you think about Gremory-senpai?" I ask the girl.

"Huh?" She starts and stares at me with a conflicted look before redirecting her gaze down to her feet. "Um… Well, I am grateful that she gave us a second chance at life."

So it's gratitude, then.

I let out a sigh. That stupid dream from last night is still haunting my mind.

I sealed away my own memories? Is that even possible? If so then why? Even though that other self of mine told me not to worry about it, some part of me deep down inside can't help but want to find out.

Maybe I can ask Gremory-senpai if I could borrow some magic tomes or something. So far my research online has brought up that amnesia caused by immense psychological trauma is possible, but something tells me this situation is a bit different.

"Hyoudou-senpaaaai!"

Somebody slaps my back, sending my stumbling forward with grunt. An athletic looking girl with short, messy blonde hair skips in front of me with a wide grin as I try to straighten myself out.

"Aika-san? What was that for?" I glare at the boisterous girl as she giggles mischievously.

"'Sup? You were lookin' pretty serious there so I thought I'd help loosen you up a little."

I quirk an eyebrow at that.

"That's an interesting way of doing that."

"Geez, Aika-chan! You can't just do that to an upperclassman!" A classic Japanese-styled beauty with doll-like features and long black haired in a hime cut walks up to her friend to lightly scold her.

A smile tugs at the corners of my lips as I watch the pair of old friends bicker.

"Good morning, Yuki-san," I greet.

"Ah, yes!" The girl quickly turns to face me and bows. "Good morning, Hyoudou-senpai, and Argento-senpai."

"G-Good morning," Asia replies with a shy smile.

Aika hums as she studies Asia while stroking an imaginary beard. "You're a real cutie. Kinda like a squirrel."

Honestly Asia reminds me more of a doe, but I refrain from saying that out loud.

"Name's Aika Heart," the energetic girl introduces herself while holding out her hand. "I'm half-Japanese so my first name is Aika, and my last name is Heart. Nice to meet you, Sempai!"

Asia lightly grasps Aika's hand who then proceeds to vigorously shake her hand up and down.

"And I am, Hayata Yuki," the Yamato Nadeshiko says. "It's very nice to meet you, Argento-senpai."

The former nun seems to relax quite a bit at Yuki's introduction.

These two girls, while I haven't hung out with them in a while were long time friends of mine. We first met back in junior high when they transferred here.

Thus, the four of us continued on the road to school, with Aika cracking jokes and Yuki lightly scolding her friend whenever she acted too familiar with Asia. By the time we had to part ways, Asia had begun to come out of her shell a little bit and was giggling and chatting along with the two.

-xXx-

"I think it's about time for you two to make your debut as real Devils," a certain red-headed upperclassman of mine announces loudly as soon as Asia and I walk into the clubroom.

"Real Devils?" I parrot, raising an eyebrow.

Gremory-senpai nods. "As I've explained before, we Devils are required to take on contracts from time to time to make a living. These contracts can range from the mundane like washing dishes to high level political assassinations."

Seeing the shock on Asia's face after mentioning that last part, Gremory-senpai continues, "Fortunately, as we are just high schoolers, our contracts will be low level ones."

Asia breathes a sigh of relief at that.

A deal with a Devil, then. Except instead of exchanging one's soul, money is used to honour the contract.

"Quick question, Buchou," I say, raising my head.

"Hm? What is it?"

"There aren't going to be any sexual contracts, right?"

Gremory-senpai shakes her head. "No. Those are specifically sent to the Succubus Guild. We Devils may be synonymous to sin, but even we have our standards."

Huh. Seems like she doesn't like the idea of people selling their body.

Clearing her throat, the red-head points a finger at me. "You'll be going first, Hyoudou-san. Please step into the centre of the magic circle."

Right, well. Nothing to do, but listen.

I sigh and do as I'm told.

The magic circle around me begins to light up as Akeno scrunches up her eyes in concentration and holds out her hands, palm facing towards me. Before I know it, the glowing gets too bright and forces me to shield my eyes. When it finally dies down, I crack open my eyes to see that I'm still standing in the clubroom.

"Strange…" Rias mutters. "This never happened before. Akeno, can you check Hyoudou-san for magical potential?"

The black-haired beauty nods and makes her way over to me. She offers me a gentle smile before placing her hand on my forehead. A moment later, she steps back and shakes her head.

"It appears that Hyoudou-san had next to no magical power," she reports.

"None? That can't be. The resurrection ritual should've amplified what little potential there was. Not to mention she possesses a Longinus-class Sacred Gear."

Ddraig. Any ideas?

 **[Sorry, kid. Your guess is as good as mine.]**

Something tells me that Ddraig isn't being completely honest with me, but he just grunts in response.

"Well, nothing for it," Gremory-senpai says, exasperated. "You'll just have to head over there manually. Luckily this specific contract isn't too far from your home, so once you're done feel free to head home."

Wonderful. Guess my bike is getting some more use again.

I watch as Asia vanishes in the light of the magic circle before sighing and walking home to grab my trusted steed.

Hopefully I won't have to finish a quota of these every month. I might need to get myself a motorcycle license and a moped with it.

Sighing, I kick off on my bike and start riding towards the address Gremory-senpai gave me. Apparently the client is a young boy living with a single mother who is almost always at work. His wish is for an older sibling to help take care of him, and to teach him how to perform some of the more complicated chores like cooking, and laundry to help lighten his mother's workload. All in all it's a pretty wholesome and heart-warming request.

I wonder how Asia's doing right now. According to Gremory-senpai she was saddled with watching over a dog for the evening as its owner went to the hospital to visit a loved one of their death bed.

Arriving at the client's house, I hope off my bike and stow it around the side of the house before walking up and ringing the doorbell. About thirty seconds pass before the door opens and a small boy around the age of ten peeks his head out shyly.

"Hey there," I say soothingly while bending down to his eye level. "I'm the Devil you wished for."

To prove it, I take out one of the flyers and show him the magic circle printed into the back.

The boy's eyes immediately lights up and he nods enthusiastically while opening the door wider.

Jeez. This kid's lucky that there're no criminals using this tactic.

Standing up, I enter the house before closing the door and locking it behind me.

The boy waits patiently as I take off my shoes before he finally decides to speak up. "U-Um… C-Can you really help me, Onee-san?"

"Of course. You want me to keep you company and teach you how to do chores, right?" I say. "And you can just call me, Nee-chan."

Feeling a little more comfortable, the boy nods, a small smile coming onto his face. "Alright, Nee-chan. I'm Yuuta."

-xXx-

After coming home from my contract, I was greeted by a beaming Asia who excitedly recounted her experience with her client, or rather her client's pet. Having grown up quite sheltered, Asia didn't have much experience with animals except for performing the occasional healing miracle so she was afraid she would mess up somehow, but the client had left a detailed list of things to do for her. Not only that, but Asia even got a little bonus for doing such a good job at taking care of the client's dog.

As for me, well Yuuta had picked up everything I taught him with surprising speed. He's a bright one, and we had agreed to meet again sometime whenever he needed help.

Asia was still in a good mood today, probably multiplied by the fact that she had made some friends in class now, as we made our way towards the clubroom.

Opening the door, I step in first and I'm greeted by the sight of a blonde man dressed like a host lounging on one of the couches as Gremory-senpai glared daggers at him. Standing off to the side with her eyes closed and hands held demurely in front of her lap is a beautiful silver-haired woman wearing a maid uniform. Meanwhile, the other members of the club were preoccupied with their things keeping as far away from the man as possible. Himejima-senpai was preparing a pot of tea, Kiba-san was leaning against a wall eyes glued to a book, and Toujou-san was sitting in the corner munching on a cookie. Our club leader, however, is sitting directly across the man, refusing so much as to look at him.

"Oh?" The man turns towards Asia and I as he eyes us up and down. "Looks like you've acquired two more beauties, Rias."

Great. He's a playboy.

He stands up and strides confidently towards us. I step protectively in front of Asia as he reaches out and grabs my hand and plants a kiss on it.

"I am Riser Phenex. May I have the honour of knowing your name, my beautiful butterfly?"

"Saya Hyoudou," I reply politely before pulling my hand back and wiping it on my skirt.

Suddenly, a cold aura seems to encompass the room, causing everyone to shiver. The maid opens her eyes, a pair of beautiful silver gems, as she glares at Riser's back.

"Sir Riser. I must ask that you refrain from performing such indecent acts in front of your fiancé," she says. Although she phrased it like a request, the way she said it seemed a lot more like a threat.

Fiancé? He can't be talking about Gremory-senpai, can he?

Taking the maid's words to heart, the playboy backs away, trying but failing to keep up his confident façade. He then proceeds to take a seat next to Gremory-senpai who shuffles away uncomfortably.

The maid then turns to us and bows. "My apologies for this man's actions, Miss Hyoudou and Miss Argento."

"O-Oh, no. It's fine." Still shocked by her earlier revelation, those were the only words I could utter.

"Shall I inform them of the situation, mistress?" The maid asks Gremory-senpai.

"Go ahead, Grayfia," she returns with a stiff nod.

"This man," Grayfia, the maid, says while gesturing to the man who smirks. "Is Riser Phenex. He is a pure-blooded High-class Devil as well as the third son to the House of Phenex. He is also to be wed to my mistress."

So he really is engaged to Gremory-senpai. I look at the red-head in question who only grits her teeth and averts her gaze.

Guess she really isn't happy about this. That means it's a political marriage. I guess that's understandable considering Devil society is like a feudal system with the Devil King reigning at the top and the nobles controlling their own domains.

Still, I really don't like the idea of someone being married off to somebody they don't even like.

"Your tea, sir."

A clatter breaks the silence of the room as Himejima-senpai sets down a teacup, not very gently, in front of Riser.

"Ah, thank you. The Priestess of Thunder's tea is always superb," he says, taking a sip and slips an arm around Gremory-senpai's shoulder who then proceeds to shrug him off and move towards the edge of the couch.

What is up with this guy? He's acting like he owns the place! There's a limit to how rude he can be.

"Just stop it already!" Gremory-senpai suddenly snaps, shooting up to her feet and glowering at Riser. "I told you already, I'm not marrying you!"

"Yes, Rias, but are you quite sure about that? The situation of your household is quite dire with you as the only heiress. You should know that there aren't many pure-blooded Devils left after the Great War."

"That's none of your concern! If I am to be the next heiress then I shall choose I would marry! My father and brother are rushing things with this arrangement! I was also promised that I was free to act however I wish until I graduate from university!"

She has a brother? In that case then why isn't he the heir of the family?

"Please, Rias. How can you say something so selfish? You are the only one left to inherit the House of Gremory after your brother left the family. Would you wish for one of the longest standing houses of the 72 Pillars to be extinguished with your generation?"

Gremory-senpai grinds her teeth together at that, her fists balled up tightly and shaking with rage.

"I refuse to let my house die out!" She declares strongly.

Riser smirks and spreads his arms. "Then all you ha-"

"But I will not marry you, Riser! I will marry the one I acknowledge! Even the Devils from the old noble houses have the right to choose who they marry!"

Huh. In that case then why is her family pushing for this arranged marriage so hard? Don't they have any faith in her?

"Tch," Riser clicks his tongue and spits on the floor to which Himejima-senpai nearly lashed out at him if not for Kiba-san holding her back. "It's always the same thing. I took the time to come out to this filthy place and dingy building."

This isn't good.

The room begins to heat up as wisps of flames come to life around Riser. "I will drag you back to the Underworld with me if I have to!"

Suddenly, the room chilled in an instant and the fire surrounding Riser's body flickered out. I shivered as my breath condensed in the air in front of me.

"I would ask that the both of you to calm down," Grayfia says coldly, her eyes sharp.

The two Devils immediately backed down from each other after hearing that.

Seeing that the situation had been successfully defused, the silver-haired maid continues, "My Master predicted such an outcome and has thus presented an alternative. Mistress, you must battle against Riser in a Rating Game if you wish to call off the engagement."

A Rating Game? Damn! So we're going to be dragged into this nonsense?! I don't want Asia to participate in any kind of battle.

Gremory-senpai takes a deep breath and sighs, defeated. "Very well. If I am left with no other choice, then I will participate."

Riser smirks and laughs condescendingly. "I have already participated in many official Rating Games and have won the majority of them! Do you truly think you can win?"

"I will," Gremory-senpai declares. "I will destroy you and your Peerage, Riser."

"Very well. I have confirmed the participation of both sides," Grayfia says. "I shall inform the masters of both houses then."

Wait, what happens to us if Gremory-senpai does get married to Riser? Does he become our King by proxy?

"Hey, Rias. Are these all the servants you have?" Riser asks suddenly, gesturing around the room.

"That's right. What of it?"

"Hah! What a joke! Only your Queen could be a match for my precious servants!"

With that declaration, Riser snaps his fingers and an unfamiliar magic circle appears on the ground. All of a sudden, the room is filled with an extra fifteen people, almost all of them being young girls.

Why am I not surprised?

Aren't we at a severe disadvantage here? I mean, I apparently count for eight Pawns, but we're still missing a Bishop, a Rook, and a Knight. Meanwhile this guy has a full Peerage! This is like an amateur playing chess against an experienced pro with all his pieces while you're stuck with three missing pieces.

The outcome looks pretty cut and dry here.

Also, just what is with the diversity of these girls? It's almost like each of them caters to a different fetish. From a girl wearing a cheongsam, to a dignified knight, to a Yamato Nadeshiko.

As I'm observing the girls, a young girl with striking similarities to Riser with her blonde hair done into drill tails meets my gaze. She stares at me for a moment before huffing and looking away with a bored expression.

Don't tell me that's his little sister. This guy is looking less and less like a playboy and more like a pervert.

Damn! If he wins this Rating Game then even Asia will..! I can't let that happen!

"I can't wait to add you and your Peerage to my collection of cute servants," Riser says with a smirk, as if confirming my thoughts.

"Like hell you will, you filthy pervert!" I shout while taking a step towards him.

The members of the Occult Research club all look at me in shock at my sudden outburst. To be honest, even I'm surprised that I decided to voice my objection.

"What did you just say?!" One of the girls, the one wearing the cheongsam yells while taking a step forward, brandishing a martial arts pole.

My eyes narrow in challenge at the girl. "You heard me. He's a two bit host wannabe that's nothing more than a lonely pervert who seeks affirmation for his pitiful existence through sex!"

"You…" The girl growls before launching herself towards me.

Before I know it, my body is moving on its own. I step back with my left foot and twist my body causing the girl's pole to slide past me. Just as she realized that she overextended, I held out my left arm and swung forward with all my strength while twisting my hips, catching the girl's neck in a clothesline. Her head snaps back as she flips under my arm and crashes onto the floor, unconscious.

"Anyone else want some?!"

My anger and stress levels had finally reached their peak. After dealing with my amnesia and suddenly being turned into a Devil, this was the last straw.

As another one of the girls prepares to step forward, Riser holds out his arm to stop her. "Hm. I see that you're slightly competent. Unfortunately, martial ability will only take you so far. The girl you just took down is the weakest of my Peerage, after all."

"I don't care if you have sixteen or sixteen thousand! I won't let you lay a hand on Asia!" I growl.

Smirking, Riser turns to Gremory-senpai. "Let us have our match in ten days. I believe that will be more than enough time for you to train and prepare."

Without waiting for a response, Riser snaps his fingers, causing his Peerage and him to disappear in a swathe of flames.

I feel a hand on my arm, and look back to see Asia. Taking a deep breath, I force myself to calm down.

"Buchou," I say, startling the girl who appeared to be deep in thought. "Do whatever you want with me. I'll take whatever you can throw at me. Just make me strong enough to beat that bastard black and blue!"

She nods. "Alright."

Looking down at my hands, I clench them into fists and close my eyes.

I will protect Asia. That bastard won't get to lay even a single finger on her before I tear him to shreds.

-xXx-

 **-** **Stat Sheet-**

 **Master:** Rias

 **Evil Piece:** Pawn x8

 **Name:** Saya Hyoudou

 **Titles:** The Dimensional Ruler

 **Sex:** Female

 **Race:** Reincarnated Devil

 **Height:** 5'5" (167cm)

 **Alignment:** Neutral Good

 **Parameters:**

 **Strength:** D++

 **Endurance:** C+

 **Agility:** C++

 **Magic:** E-

 **Luck:** A

 **Weapons:** Varied

 **Skills:**

 **Battle Continuation:** A - Makes it possible to fight even with deadly wounds and stay alive unless a fatal blow is received.

 **Charisma:** C- - Slightly boosts the morale and abilities of nearby allies.

 **Disengage:** B - The ability to safely break away from combat.

 **Eye of the Mind (False):** C – A natural talent to foresee danger via an innate sixth sense.

 **Pioneer of the Stars:** EX - A unique skill given to heroes who became turning points in history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" are turned into "events that can be realized".

 **Abilities:**

 **Boosted Gear:** EX - A Sacred Gear that holds the ancient dragon Ddraig. It has the ability to double the user's strength every ten seconds as long as the user's body can handle the strain.

 **Relationship Levels** **:**

 **Rias Gremory:** Rank 2

 **Akeno Himejima:** Rank 2

 **Yumi Kiba:** Rank 2

 **Koneko Toujou:** Rank 1

 **Asia Argento:** Rank 4

 **Yuki Hayata:** Rank 6

 **Aika Heart:** Rank 5

 **Yuuta Sato:** Rank 1


	6. Chapter 6: Training Camp

**AN:** Would you look at that! An update that's actually on time. These shorter chapters are definitely more manageable. As usual, thank you to everyone who's kept with me all this time, and welcome to those who are just joining us.

-xXx-

Wheezing, I continue to hike up a steep mountain with an uneven dirt trail while carrying three heavy bags, one in each hand and one on my back. Gremory-senpai had told us to meet at the train station at five in the morning so we could make our way to one of her family estates at the outskirts of town. It was a thirty minute train ride, but we've been walking for more than two hours already. At least it feels that way with the amount of stuff I've been carrying.

Well, I only have myself to blame. I am the one who asked Gremory-senpai to train me.

My hair and clothes were soaked with sweat and it felt like my muscles were going to tear apart, but I kept on pushing, keeping pace with Kiba-san who's marching in front of me carrying a large pack herself seemingly effortlessly. Every few minutes she'd glance back at me worriedly, but I continued to push myself forward.

"Saya-san, here. Some water."

Pausing momentarily, I give Asia a grateful nod as she reaches up and pours some water into my open mouth.

Part of my motivation came from Asia who was walking beside me, steadily encouraging me and giving me the nectar of life.

Finally, we all came to a stop in front of a massive estate surrounded by a forest.

"We're here," Gremory-senpai announces before turning to me. "Hyoudou-san. Take a break for half an hour. We'll begin your training after that."

I nodded, unable to muster up the energy to speak as we walked inside. Dropping off the bags by the grand staircase as per Gremory-senpai's instruction, I collapse onto one of the sofas in the lounge.

Ten days… I have ten days to get strong enough to beat Riser.

Closing my eyes, I feel myself start to drift off to sleep.

-xXx-

 **[Partner. You sure about this?]**

" _Yes, Ddraig. This is the perfect chance."_

What is this? A memory? A massive dragon is speaking to somebody. Who is it?

The red dragon sighs. **[Fine. I'll trust your judgement.]**

" _Thank you. As I am now, I wouldn't be able to overcome this trial, but she's different."_

They both turn to face me. I can't move; can't speak.

 **[Still. To think that you're able to pull off something like this. My Partner is more of a monster than I,]** the red dragon says with a hearty chuckle.

" _Take care of her, Ddraig. It wouldn't do for her to get killed before the right time."_

 **[I will. Don't worry. How much should I tell her?]**

" _Just enough. No need to divulge all our secrets. We need to keep a certain air of mystery after all."_

 **[Alright. I'll see you later, Partner.]**

" _I'll be waiting."_

My vision swirls into a vortex, the figures merging into each other before everything fades to black.

I'm vaguely away of somebody shaking my body and I crack open my eyes to see Asia's face hovering over mine.

"Ah! You're awake. Buchou said that it's time to meet up."

Groaning, I sit up and stretch out my sore muscles.

Alright. Time to get this underway.

I stand up and smile at Asia. "Thanks for waking me up. Let's go."

The blonde girl nods and returns my smile.

Together, we make our way back outside and see that the others were already there dressed in their gym uniforms.

"There you are," Gremory-senpai greets with a nod. "Now then, let's start you off with weapons training with Yumi."

The girl in question shoots me a grin before tossing over a wooden sword handle first. I catch it and give it an experimental twirl. Hm. It feel like something's missing.

Well, whatever.

"First off," Kiba-san says while holding her training sword out in front of her. "Try to hit me within three minutes. I won't attack, and I'll only dodge and block. That way I'll be able to gauge your abilities."

I nod and swallow nervously while holding the wooden sword in two handed grip. I had dabbled a little bit in kendo, but I'm far from being an expert.

"Begin!" The prince calls out, and I dash towards her.

Crying out, I bring the sword down in a vertical strike to which she easily sidesteps. I follow up with a horizontal swing only for my attack to be parried. Like this I continue my assault on the Knight. I can predict how she'll move to avoid my strikes, but I just can't hit fast enough to catch her.

Dammit. I knew something felt off.

Before I knew it, three minutes had passed.

"Not yet," I say between heavy breaths. "Let's go again!"

Kiba-san quirks an eyebrow at that. "Are you sure? The results will be the same."

Maybe..

I shake my head. "Can I get another sword?"

"You're planning to dual wield?" The Knight asks dubiously. "You're still a beginner, so-"

"Here," Gremory-senpai suddenly says as she throws one of the spares at me, cutting Kiba-san off.

Feeling the pair of wooden swords in my hand does erase some of that strange feeling, but there's still something else. It's too heavy. Nodding, I break the pair of them in half over my knees.

There. That feels much better.

Yeah.

This feels right.

"Alright. I'm ready," I say, locking eyes with Kiba-san.

"Then, same rules. Begin!"

With renewed vigour, I sprint towards the Knight, keeping low to the ground and bring my left arm back.

I can see it; the muscles tensing as she prepares to dodge.

Kiba-san easily avoids the trajectory of my first swing, but as she's recovering from her step back, I thrust out towards her with my right. Her eyes widen in surprise as the broken sword nears near chest before she quickly bats it away, sending my arm up with the force of the strike. Not letting up, I quickly slash with my left, forcing my opponent to guard again.

I regain my footing before bringing both of my swords down on her. Next, pull back and slash with my right. She'll dodge. Step forward and feint with a left stab. She'll prepare to parry. Change trajectory and strike with my right again. She'll lean back to avoid it. Duck low and circle around before stabbing with my left. She'll spin and swing down. Slip to the side and strike with the handle.

Kiba-san grunts and staggers back, clutching at her stomach with a shocked expression.

That was…

Once again, I was surprised by my actions. I did do martial arts to keep myself active, but this is the first time I ever felt like this. It was like my body went on autopilot. I could predict everything she was about to do, and react accordingly.

"Very well done," she says with a genuine smile. "I didn't expect something like that."

I shake my head. "To be honest, neither did I."

Gremory-senpai suddenly claps her hands, gathering our attention. "Alright! Take a short break, Hyoudou-san. We'll begin your magic training with Akeno after five minutes."

Kiba-san and I nod.

"That was incredibly impressive," the Prince says, walking up to me. "You're self taught, correct?"

"That's right. Although, I still have no idea how I managed to move like that."

"Then that must mean it was instinctual. Some people are naturally born with heightened battle senses, and you must be one of them. I'm sure you'll be more than strong enough by the end of this training camp."

I stare down at the pair of wooden swords still gripped in my hands.

"I hope you're right," I mutter.

-xXx-

Rias Gremory's ten day gruelling training camp continued with increasing intensity. In the mornings, I would practice sword fighting with Yumi who had started going all out in our spars. Of course, that meant I was able to use my Sacred Gear's ability, the old man dragon called Ddraig, which doubles my combat abilities every ten seconds. Unfortunately as Yumi is a Knight, I had an extremely hard time keeping up with her speed despite my buffs. That and she had started using two blades as well.

Unfortunately, my magic training with Himejima-senpai was going nowhere. For some reason my magic levels are so low that they might as well be sitting at zero. I did manage to get to the point where I could produce a tiny ball of energy, but Asia's been able to freely manipulate water. It probably helps that she's a Bishop which receives a buff to magical energy, but the progress she's making dwarfs mine by far.

After lunch is hand to hand training with Toujou-san. While my sparring sessions with Yumi tested my speed and reflexes with weapons, Toujou-san's training focused on strength and endurance. Just a single strike from her would send me flying through the air with more than a few cracked ribs. Luckily Asia was always there to heal any wounds I would receive. Fighting against the small girl is like fighting against an unfair fighting game boss with a small hitbox and can kill you with one combo.

To top it all off in the evening is muscle and endurance building with Gremory-senpai. I'm made to trudge up the side of the mountain while carrying weights that would put a bodybuilder to shame, perform one thousand push ups, one thousand sit ups, and one thousand squats at the top, and then run back down.

Needless to say it felt like I would die after each session, but that was how a week had finally passed.

"You've been progressing nicely, Hyoudou-san, Asia" Gremory-senpai says while I stretch out my sore muscles.

She had called all of us out into the woods after dinner saying she had prepared another regimen: Combat simulation. Apparently the others in the club excluding Asia and me have all had real combat experience in the form of taking down Stray Devils, reincarnated Devils that betray their King.

"You and Asia are to survive Yumi's and Koneko's combined assault for ten minutes," the red-haired Devil continues. "They will only stop when one of you is knocked unconscious or if you concede defeat. The boundaries will be the edges of this forest. Any questions?"

"As long as we can survive, then anything is permitted, right?" I ask.

Gremory-senpai nods. "Of course. Do anything you need to. There's no such thing as fighting dirty in a fight to the death. Survival is what it all comes down to. The winner is always the one who's alive in the end, and that applies to the Rating Game we have in three days."

"Alright. I understand."

Asia, who's standing beside me, gives a firm nod of agreement.

"You will be given a five second head start. Go!"

At her signal, I quickly sweep Asia off her feet, eliciting a small shriek from the girl, and carry her bridal style before taking off into the trees. She certainly feels light like a feather now after the hell I've been through.

First things first, though. I need to hide Asia in a safe place since her combat capabilities are limited. Himejima-senpai's been teaching her some basic ways to attack with magic, but it won't be enough to take down those two.

However, before I could make it very far, I'm forced to duck under a sword that flew out of the bushes and embedded itself into a tree.

I guess we're going all out for this, then.

Quickly putting Asia down, I summon Boosted Gear and grab the blade in the tree before spinning and deflecting a strike that came from the shadows.

Yumi smiles and gives her weapons a twirl as she recovers her footing.

 **[BOOST!]**

The Knight kicks off the ground with inhuman speed almost disappearing from sight. Our swords clash once again sending sparks scattering into the night. Her assault continues unrelentingly forcing me to either parry or block her attacks with no room for rest.

I wince as one of Yumi's swords made it through my defences and grazes my cheek.

If I don't do something then I won't even last five minutes let alone ten.

 **[BOOST!]**

As another surge of strength wells up inside me, I spot a gap in Yumi's offense and kick her away from me to get some breathing room when suddenly a small figure leaps out of the foliage to my left. I barely manage to duck under Koneko's surprise attack before I find myself staring down a pair of steel swords crossed in front of my neck.

"It's your loss, Saya-san," the Knight states calmly.

"I don't think so," I reply with a smirk.

 **[BOOST!]**

Suddenly a gust kicks up a small whirlwind of dirt and leaves that gets sent into Yumi's eyes. She cries out and stumbles back, dropping her swords in the process as she covers her eyes with her arms.

Good. That should give me time to take care of Koneko.

Shooting a quick thumbs up to Asia who has her arms outstretched with a pale green glow enveloping her hands, I dash to intercept the small white-haired girl who was trying to go for Asia.

She easily catches my blade with her gloved hands before proceeding to snap it in two.

Guess it's going to be hand to hand from here on.

I cast away the broken sword and put my fists up in front of my face resembling an orthodox boxing stance.

 **[BOOST!]**

Koneko may be stronger than me physically, but I've at least got longer reach. If I even block one of her hits I don't doubt I'd instantly get knocked out cold, so my only choice is to avoid and strike from outside her range.

The younger girl throws a punch which comes to a stop centimetres from my nose as I take a step back and counter with a jab.

She reels back from the hit much to our combined surprise, but recovers almost instantly, eyes sharpening.

 **[BOOST!]**

I throw a punch that the white-haired Devil easily slips past and suddenly I'm sent flying through the air before coming to a violent stop against a tree.

Surprisingly it didn't hurt all that much. Is it because of the Boosted Gear?

However, before I could leap back into the fray, two claps in quick succession made us collectively freeze.

"Alright!" Gremory-senpai announces while walking between us. "That's enough for today. You did well, Hyoudou-san."

 **[BURST!]**

"Ugh..!"

I fall to my knees after losing all strength in my limbs.

"Saya-san!"

In an instant, Asia is beside me fussing over me. Her healing light gives some comfort to the growing pain coming from where Koneko punched me.

At this rate… Will I be strong enough for when the Rating Game rolls around?

No. I have to be! If I'm not then Asia will…

That's right. I won't let that sleazebag lay a hand on Asia.

-xXx-

On our final night at Gremory-senpai's training camp, I find myself unable to fall asleep. I can still barely believe that this is happening. We're going into a high stakes arena battle against a highly experienced opponent with more Pieces than us. It all just seems so surreal. Not too long ago I was just a normal girl living a normal life.

A heavy sigh escapes from my mouth as I walk down the stairs of the secluded mansion only to see a dim light emanating from the living room. Curious, I make my way over to see Gremory-senpai sitting on one of the couches, hunched over a stack of papers and a map with chess pieces placed on top of it.

She perks up when she hears me enter and shoots me an exhausted smile. "You can't sleep, either?"

"No," I reply with a shake of my head. "I got up to get some fresh air when I saw you in here, Buchou."

"I see."

An awkward silence descends over the room before the older girl clears her throat and returns to whatever she was doing before.

That's right. Out of all of us here, she has the most riding on this competition. It still kind of irks me that Asia and I ended up getting dragged into her personal affairs like this, but an arranged marriage with somebody you don't even like is unforgivable.

"Hey, Buchou."

"Hm?"

I bite my lip, debating on whether or not I should say what's on my mind.

Ah, screw it!

"Why did you decide to resurrect me? Was it only because of my Sacred Gear?"

Gremory-senpai doesn't answer immediately, but eventually nods. "Yes. Your Boosted Gear is too valuable to let it fall into somebody else's hands. The same goes for Asia."

"I see…"

So that's all we are to her. Tools to strengthen her Peerage.

Resisting the urge to hit her, I turn heel and start to walk away.

"However, I also wish to call the two of you my friends. I know that you didn't ask for this life, and that you probably despise me for doing what I did. I just hope in time that you will forgive me."

"I'll… Keep that in mind. Good night. Don't stay up too late. We're counting on you tomorrow to lead us properly."

Although, I doubt either of us are going to get much sleep tonight.

Returning to my room, I collapse into the soft bed and try my best to calm my racing nerves.

The battle that decides our fates is tomorrow.

-xXx-

 **-** **Stat Sheet-**

 **Master:** Rias

 **Evil Piece:** Pawn x8

 **Name:** Saya Hyoudou

 **Titles:** The Dimensional Ruler

 **Sex:** Female

 **Race:** Reincarnated Devil

 **Height:** 5'5" (167cm)

 **Alignment:** Neutral Good

 **Parameters:**

 **Strength:** C++

 **Endurance:** B-

 **Agility:** B

 **Magic:** E-

 **Luck:** A

 **Weapons:** Varied

 **Skills:**

 **Battle Continuation:** A - Makes it possible to fight even with deadly wounds and stay alive unless a fatal blow is received.

 **Charisma:** C- - Slightly boosts the morale and abilities of nearby allies.

 **Disengage:** B - The ability to safely break away from combat.

 **Eye of the Mind (False):** C – A natural talent to foresee danger via an innate sixth sense.

 **Pioneer of the Stars:** EX - A unique skill given to heroes who became turning points in history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" are turned into "events that can be realized".

 **Abilities:**

 **Boosted Gear:** EX - A Sacred Gear that holds the ancient dragon Ddraig. It has the ability to double the user's strength every ten seconds as long as the user's body can handle the strain.

 **Relationship Levels** **:**

 **Rias Gremory:** Rank 2

 **Akeno Himejima:** Rank 2

 **Yumi Kiba:** Rank 3

 **Koneko Toujou:** Rank 2

 **Asia Argento:** Rank 5

 **Yuki Hayata:** Rank 6

 **Aika Heart:** Rank 5

 **Yuuta Sato:** Rank 1


End file.
